Book Review: The Cruise of the Snark

Book Review: The Cruise of the Snark by Jack London

The Cruise of the Snark is the true and hilarious story of Jack London's bumbling attempt to sail from San Francisco and around the world in a seven year journey on his custom built boat "The Snark." To say things didn't go according to plan is an understatement. Though highly entertaining, London's journey never did make it completely around the world. How far did he go? Well I won't spoil it for you, you'll have to read it to find out.

Are you familiar with Jack London (1876-1916)? After Mark Twain, he is perhaps one of America's most famous writers. He wrote such classics as "Call of the Wild," "White Fang, "The Sea Wolf," and hundreds of short stories. His books sold millions of copies and he received over 10,000 letters from fans every year. Jack London was a man who did everything in excess. This included writing, traveling, drinking, gambling, etc. Even though he was a famous author, London lived most of his life attempting to pay off his many debts. Often noted for disciplining himself to write a thousand words a day it should be remembered that he had to - his creditors were always at his door! During his journey on the Snark, London wrote the whole time as way of financing his adventure.

And what an adventure it was! London's trip takes him island hopping through the South Seas and the reader is treated to take on what life in paradise was really like - nearly a hundred years ago. His stories on the perils of navigation are amusing. He was also the first person to ever write about the sport of surfing, a sport he tries himself while in Hawaii. I was touched by the generosity and tribal customs of his new found friends in Tahiti. I also found myself amazed at the riskiness of his adventures as he nonchalantly describes being on boat that is floundering on a reef with a contingent of murderous islanders in canoes waiting to attack them if they can't rescue themselves. All of this is delivered in London's whimsical and self-deprecating style that makes you smile and see the humor in all situations whether he is feasting or suffering.

The best parts of this book are the humor and his cultural portraits of island worlds that we shall never have the opportunity to experience as he did. London also reflects nobly on the Leper Colony at Molokai and his friend, "The Natural Man" who "goes native" and by doing so saves his life and his soul. For those not into sailing, some of struggles with learning this art may bore you (it did a bit for me) but I would not let this dissuade me from rereading the book. This was my second read of it and I enjoyed it more the second time. Strikingly honest at times, this is a fine adventure told by a master story teller. I rate it 4 ninja stars out of 5.

Being Paid To Counsel

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I'm graduating this coming Saturday. Not only that, but I'm taking a contract counselor position at Turning Point, the YFC Counseling Center that I've been doing my practicum at this year. Even though I only plan to take on 5-10 clients per week max during the summer (I want to recover from school), it's still pretty exciting. Yesterday was a landmark day as I set up an appointment for next week with my first paying client. Turning Point has a reasonable sliding scale for paying fees (the less income you make, the less of a fee you pay) so I'm not sure I'll be making lots of money or anything but it will be help put food on the table.

Although I'm happy to finally be able to make some money off of this counseling thing, I struggle with the idea of charging for my services. Should I really be charging to minister to people? It feels kind of wrong. When I read Proverbs, I hear Lady Wisdom offering words of wisdom freely. I've been offering counseling for free for 2 years now, what is so different now that I will have a piece of paper? Also, I wonder, are my skills and abilities actually worth anything yet? I'm still so new at this. I wonder how awkward it will be to charge people for a session where not a lot of progress is made. And I wonder how God feels about it all.

I wish I could offer counseling for free. If I had a salary for instance (like a pastor), at least it would feel better. Unfortunately many counselors who are on salary are often pressured to take on more clients then is healthy or wanted so salary isn't the perfect idea either. The terrible thing is that even if I could offer free counseling, I'm not sure that it would be therapeutically wise as its been proven that clients who don't have to pay anything work less hard, skip more appointments, and report less desirable outcomes. Client who pay have way more motivation to put more effort into their own healing, to make changes in themselves. Turning Point used to offer free counseling, but they began to charge because they thought it would be better for the overall good of those they ministered to. So I guess I'll be stuck with charging for my services. Hopefully I will get more comfortable with it . . . but not too comfortable.

May Light increase!

7 Days of Adventure, 2 Days of Relaxing

When Jobina and I first decided that we were going to go to Belize, we thought we'd spend a week in the jungle and then unwind for two days on a beach somewhere. Thus began our epic journey of trying to find a cheap beach cabana that would work for both of us. We found several places which all happened to be either:

1. Too long in travel time to get there.
2. The beaches weren't that great.
3. The places would take a minimum of three nights (and we were only staying for two).
4. The places were full, shut down, or in one case the owners were going on vacation.

We were trying to decide what to do with those last two days (our flight plan said we had them) when we thought about staying about staying in Punta Gorda, the major town that is about 20 miles from Cotton Tree. There are no real beaches here, but hey, I grew up in Gimli, MB which has tons of beaches so its not like beaches will be a huge luxury for me. And if we really want to do the beach thing, we can hire someone to take us snorkeling off of one of the many sandy islands close by. PG (as Punta Gorda) is known is right on the Ocean and overlooks the Caribbean Sea.

We looked around and found a nice looking small inn, The Coral House Inn - 4 rooms with a pool (a rarity in Belize), complimentary breakfast, air conditioning, bicycles to ride, hammocks and gardens on site, and lots of "style." And it's right on the coast. All for $90 a night. The only thing was when we contacted them, they said they were booked for our days (doh!) but that they were finding out in a week if the company who reserved all the rooms would still need them (faint hope springs up). Thus we waited a long week and today I got the email: a room opened up! So now it looks like our vacation plans are set. Sweet! I'm getting pretty excited about this upcoming little adventure of ours . . .

Blogging: It Might Kill You

Here's a story saying that blogging can kill you. Here's a story saying the first story is hogwash (mostly). What do you think? I'm not sure what to believe but I think that the stress and pressure some people put on themselves to blog is not good for them.

May Light increase!

On Turning 18

Last night at Olive Garden I heard two young female bussers talking. They were both excited, very excited, about turning 18. "I can't wait to turn 18," said the first "it's only three months away!" "Oh yeah, well I'm less then a month away from turning 18," said the second. I wish you could have seen the rapturous anticipation in their eyes. To these young women, turning 18 is pretty much one of the most important milestones in their lives. "So why is turning 18 so important?" I asked innocently. They looked at me like I was an idiot, paused, and then both said in unison "Because then we can go to the bar!"

Like most teenagers these girls are no strangers to alcohol. They are both acquainted with inebriation and drunkenness. With their social networks getting access to booze is not the issue. The issue is that for them the bar is currently a forbidden zone. It is a social context that promises to allow them the opportunity to be accepted and to increase their social fortunes. Perhaps also a place to meet a great guy, have fun, and experience some excitement.

Personally, I have nothing against the idea of a bar (since I am not against alcohol per se) yet I admit to having a certain uneasy feeling when I hear teens looking forward to going to them so much. I have rarely graced bars in my life but I have had many friends who have. I think what I don't like about them is how for many they become the center of their entertainment and social lives. People get fixated and "stuck" in it. This is combined with the easy ability to get drunk, something that to me is pretty clearly contrary to God's will for us. Also there is the idea of finding someone at a bar. I know some people who have found a good mate in a bar, but it seems to me the majority do not. Meeting someone when you are both under the influence of alcohol seems like an unwise way to start a relationship. It also leaves you more likely to do something you'll regret. Bars are supposed to cut people off when they have too much but the truth is that there isn't enough incentive to do this. Inebriated people (as long as they aren't disruptive = more profits for bartender and bar). Drinking to excess is way too common.

Of course if I'm honest I can't really claim to be any sort of expert on the bar experience since I so rarely frequent them. And perhaps I'm overly biased against them. But for young, impressionable teenagers it doesn't seem like a good thing for most and downright dangerous for some. What do you think? Hopefully for these two young ladies they will enjoy their bar experience responsibly and in moderation and eventually find better places to spend most of their time.

May Light increase!

The Miracle Question

"Insanity: repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
- Unknown

Sometimes when people come into counseling, they know something is very wrong but they don't know how what it is and they got lost in their confusion. One way to help them figure this out is to ask them the Miracle Question. This question comes from Solution Focused Therapy and I find it is very useful to help clients (or myself) focus on what is really bothering me and what I would like to see changed. Basically the question goes something like this:

"If you could wake up tomorrow and a miracle had happened and you no longer had all of these problems, what would be different from how things are now?"

From here, people will go on to say what they would want to have changed. Sometimes, you can't do anything about things (like if they say they want a person who has died to alive again) but often they will say things that are somewhat possible. From here you can come up with solutions for many of these things. Two ways solution focused counselors do this is by looking for exceptions and finding what's worked in the past.

For instance if in answer to the miracle question someone said "I would have a happier marriage" the therapist might ask them how they would know that. "Well . . . we wouldn't fight so much." The therapist would look for an exception: was there ever a time when you weren't fighting? "Yes, when we first got married." What was different? "Well, I didn't nag my husband so much and try to control him. Also my husband and I talked a lot more." Suddenly, you have something to go on. Can you imagine not nagging him now? "Possible." Maybe a solution would be to stop nagging him, does nagging every work for you? "No." Well let try a new solution, no nagging no matter what. . .

What's worked in the past is similar. "Well, in the past, we went out for dinner once week, I didn't watch so much TV, and we both didn't work so much. " From here, you can look at solutions that worked in the past and try doing them again. It's amazing how we as people forget/ignore what used to work in our lives! If you feel "stuck" in a problem try the miracle question and look for exceptions and what's worked in the past.With a focus on personal responsibility "What can I do to change the situation" I have found this approach helpful with couples and individuals. A good book on the subject of SFT with couples is this one.

May Light increase!

It's Nice To Come Home To Someone

Tonight I got home from my counseling sessions around 8:30. I was tired and feeling drained. The sun was just about to go below the horizon as I walked up to the front step of my townhouse. As usual the door is locked. Jobina and I have this thing when every time I get home at night I knock and she lets me in (I'm way too lazy to use my own key). Anyway, as I waited I watched her come running to the door through the little window in it, time seemed to slow down. As I watched her approach in slow motion I had an epiphany: "Wow, it's really nice to come home to someone." Most days I take it for granted but today, just for a moment, I bask in the wonderful grace that I, Mark Westman, have Someone to come home to. Seriously, how can I ever complain about anything? I am blessed beyond what words can ever describe.

May Light increase!

Vacation Book Ideas

Jobina and I are just over a month away from going to Belize and it's time I start thinking about packing. Yup, I need to bring some books along. Any suggestions? I don't care if it's fiction or non-fiction, classics or new stuff, but if you have any suggestions of books that you simply loved when you read them please let me know. Also, if you have a moment, please tell what you liked about it/them. I look forward to wiling away long hours reading in a hammock and enjoying the tropical breezes. Thanks!