Be Careful Where You Fill Up

I woke up very early this morning, usually I HATE that.  This morning though, I woke up and was thinking about Lake Powell.  My family (my chosen family, not the ones I was given biologically) and I used to have a timeshare on a houseboat.  Some of my very best memories are from those years. 

The thought that impaled my mind this morning was one particular incident.
It was probably the first or second year we had the boat.  She was a beauty, but a big beast and a little intimidating.  We had proudly pulled her out of the dock and into the channel. We'd spent a few days and it was time to fuel her up for a journey to some magnificent canyon.  Our skipper glided the boat (that may be a bit of an overstatement, but for the purposes of this discussion, it glided) into the dock to fuel.  We tossed a rope to the dock hand and tied her off.  We then told him, "We need to fill up."  He didn't skip a beat and said, "Most people come here to empty, but it's your boat.....whatever."  What we didn't realize is that we'd pulled into the sewer dock, not the fuel dock....pretty much an off load only kind of zone.  He gave us the "You people are going to die" look and sent us on our way.

I wondered WHY that particular incident came to mind.  I tend to be very analytical when it comes to things like that.  I always think there is a message.  I got up early and really gave it some thought.

It's all about WHAT YOU ASK FOR.

We wanted fuel.....but we just ASKED to fill 'er up....we could have had a boat full of SHIT.  The dock hand recognized our request and was kind enough to correct us, but that's not always the case.  There have been so many times in life that I have docked at the totally WRONG location and just allowed the dock hand to fill me up with whatever was there.  I have NOT been specific in my requests, I have not spoken my truths clearly, I have not been clear in my intentions.  I have allowed myself to be filled up with a lot of crap over the years.

The nice thing is, I can change that.  There is a high likelihood that I will end up at the wrong dock again.....it happens.  I know enough now to say, "I need fuel for my engines."  At that point, the dock hand has NO other option than to say "YES" or "Gee, I'm sorry.....you can't get that here."  Why thank you Mr. Dock Hand, I guess I best move on to a more appropriate dock.....

What a revelation at 0430 this morning.  I would prefer to have revelations at more convenient hours, but we take them as they come. 

So there you have it.....watch where you dock, be careful where you fill up, but most importantly.....ASK for what you need....the dock hand will listen.