I recently had the pleasure of watching an impressive documentary, for me, entitled: Sir Lawrence's Last Voyage. Sir Lawrence Jones has a PhD in Oceanography. This gentleman spent much of his life sailing the Ocean. Those waters dragged him both to faraway places, far away from civilization, as well as to collect his anecdotes and experiences, which he captured in his book "My Life on the Ocean Comes to an End".
During Sir Lawrence's years as an international lecturer, recounting his experiences at sea and his research on marine fauna, he was always intrigued to find a light to guide the path of his existence. He, a sullen character, with 3 failed marriages and unrecognized children, enjoyed a solid economy but, at the same time, his enormous ego of scientific celebrity claimed that he was missing something else......., a prize perhaps? This back-and-forth, between ego and his inner self, overwhelmed him........
In his experience he had realized that ambition, was the ultimate purpose of many lives but, Sir Lawrence, it took him a long time to recognize the errors in his own. At that time he began to think that all of us, in this glorious human journey, must make changes that would lead us to find a beacon to guide the way. He asked himself big questions like Who am I? It is true that I have a body, but I have always heard, since my student days, that energy is not destroyed, it is transformed. How will I transform myself?
Even in his many speeches, his listeners could not believe it when he, at the end of his lectures, told them that he wanted to improve their lives. Something unusual for his assistants and for those who knew him personally as the "sullen scientist".
During the lectures, everyone in the audience would quietly wonder,
-How does a celebrity like Sir Lawrence say that?-
He, now more conscious, relaxed by the passing of the years, and as if a wind were whispering in his ear, sensing the questions of his audience, confesses to them:
-I ask myself these questions over and over again, Who am I? How can I improve, in order to get an answer. Over the years I have become more sensitive. Unfortunately, so far, I haven't gotten any answers.-
Everyone thought the ocean genius, as he is popularly known, was going crazy..... His assistants only wanted to hear about his travels and the animals of the sea....
Sir Lawrence continued to travel through life. On one such voyage in the Indian Ocean, made in the spring of 1992, he recalls that a strange phenomenon occurred in his life. He was sailing alone with the crew. On his ship, Adventure, which reminded him of so many memories and adventures, he was now questioning why so many negative events had happened to him. He hadn't realized that he was nodding off to the sound of the ship ..... When he unexpectedly noticed a light moving.....
-Could it be that I fell asleep and I'm dreaming of a shooting star?- he asked himself.
He immediately reacted and thought .....
-But it looks more like a lighthouse. Strange thing, that lighthouse was not there.-
He decides to get up to drink some water. While drinking it, between sips, it came to his mind that it could be a pirate ship. During that time it was common to find one of them and, he wanted to get out of a fierce battle. He alerted his crew. The Captain, Roger Kunz, sees nothing of what Sir Lawrence says. Although none of them contravenes the warning, the veteran Lawrence knew something was up; as it was close to midnight he decided to remain on the bow, scribbling all his bitterness to the unanswered questions. To his surprise, suddenly his hand was suspended over the paper, on which he was writing, as if by an invisible force. At that moment he decided to let himself be carried away.....and appeared written:
-Do you really want an answer or are you just letting off steam?-
Sir Lawrence blinks. He does not believe what is happening to him... an answer arises in his mind:
-The secret of your past will be revealed to you, you will change it and, you will have a better future.-
These voyages lasted 3 years. In each one of them, unexplained phenomena happened, but all those who traveled there said that their lives were being mysteriously reprogrammed.
Many said they felt transformed. They were deeply ashamed of their lives, marked by many mistakes and misdeeds, shameful behaviors and detrimental decisions...they experienced deep remorse that was reflected in the pain of loved ones. However, that light encouraged them to forgive themselves in order to stop living in fear and guilt.
For Sir Lawrence the greatest fear was to demonstrate to the people, who knew him in the past, his transformation and to be a beacon of light for all his admirers. He thought aloud:
-I would like to be remembered as a being who accomplished a change regardless of his dark past-....
The year 1996 was beginning and Sir Lawrence was grateful to be part of the process that helped many people find value in their lives. He decided to write down his experiences. He worked intensively for 6 months. The last 2 weeks he revised and corrected errors in the manuscript of his book. However, he plans to publish it in August 1996. He plans to baptize it in a trip he will make in the Newfoundland Sea...
Although his adventurous spirit always accompanies him, he planned everything perfectly. He would invite a select group of personalities, including journalists. They met on the agreed day and set sail. During the voyage, the sea was rough. Just when they were happy, toasting the christening of the book, the ship was hit by the sea...... Only my friend, journalist Ruth Aird, managed to survive to narrate what happened.
The news that day shocked world opinion. Sir Lawrence had passed away. That was his last journey.....
My friend Ruth and I, upon finishing watching the documentary, commented that Sir Lawrence's ego, to be and do something different, transported him to the light of eternity.......
Sir Lawrence's last voyage by María del Carmen Sánchez Copyright © 2022
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)