Introduction
“Journey” is a term that is often used to refer metaphorically to going from one point or stage in life to another. The phrase “life’s journey” is used to refer to the entire life span. Learning is a lifelong process by which every person acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from daily experiences and exposure to the environment. Learning comes from adapting, transforming and changing as we move through different stages of life. In the book Peripheral Vision, Mary Catherine Bateson writes, “it is in all learning, one is changed, becoming someone slightly-or profoundly different. What is learned then becomes a part of that system of self-definition. It is only from a sense of continuing truths that we can draw the courage for change, even for the constant, day-to-day changes of growth and aging.” Greenlaw’s literal journey as a swordboat captain is part of a longer journey representing the interaction of work and life.
Sea Fever
Finding passion or fever begins by retracing your steps in life. Career passions are often formed in childhood. Greenlaw states as a child, "My love of the outdoors, coupled with the abundance of ocean and availability of boats in my childhood years, is what led me to what has become a passion--catching fish."
Identify what really matters and what is most important. Greenlaw states, “There are other reasons to go offshore. You like the way you feel on a boat, you like being at sea; you are passionate about pursuing a fish or a lobster. Those things keep you going back. It is the feeling you get when you are on the boat, engaged in this activity. It's a hard thing to describe.”
Exploration, trying it on for size, and listen to your heart, making a career out of the things you love, that's what finding your passion is all about. During the summers between semesters during college, Greenlaw worked on a friend’s swordfish boat and found her calling. Greenlaw...