The Ocean's Friends

-turn it on. There. It's--oh, what day is it?

The twelfth.

Thank you. I'm sorry, I'm just a little bit flustered. Normally I plan interviews more than a breath in advance, ha ha ha! Anyway, I'm so glad you're willing to let me record this. I won't tell your name, other than--what was that again?

The focus holder of the Ocean's Friends.

And I'm also going to publish only a transcription, not the recording itself, so no one will recognize your voice.

Thanks.

Okay. And the reason I'm so excited right now is that I've only just met you and I've already learned something that completely changes something I've always believed to be true. Context: Ocean worship. Goes back to at least the middle of the Oceanic Era, because the oldest tiderider log that I could get my hands on talks about giving the ocean food as early as 5700 or 5800 Oce. And it lasted, or so I thought, until 1000 Vol. That's only an estimate--the end date is of course as fuzzy as the start date. So--what I'm trying to say is that just an hour ago I would have confidently said that nobody thinks of the ocean as a divine being. But I'm wrong. The Ocean's Friends have kept that tradition going quietly for the last thousand years.

Oh! No, no no--that's not what I said.

Well, I didn't mean that you do all the rituals. Just the part about talking about the ocean like it's alive, and giving it things.

But it's not the same thing at all. We do not worship the ocean. That is what faded away, and rightfully so, a thousand years go. Our tradition started before that as a change in perspective rather than a denial of beliefs. As our name says, we're his friends.

Oh. Well, what's the difference? Either way it's treating the ocean like a person.

Ah! Now that's a beautiful way of putting it. And that is the difference. When you think about it, all the rituals of ocean worship are based on fear. The old Tideriders, they didn't know why the ocean does what he does. They were at his mercy, so they gave him offerings, whispered in code so he wouldn't hear them. That's not what you do to someone you think of as a person. That's how you treat a threat. And "ocean worship" was nothing but trying to appease that threat. Which, in a way, is also a bit arrogant. As if there's anything humans could do to get the ocean to change the course of a storm for the sake of one little ship.

I see... But if that's true, then how is it any less arrogant to believe you can be the ocean's friend?

Mm, yes, that does seem contradictory, doesn't it? But it isn't. Listen, you don't notice a small animal that runs away from you in fear, do you? You barely see it. But what if it comes close, sits down, makes its noises specifically in your direction?

Honestly? I'd be scared of it. It's probably sick and might bite me. But I think I get your point. You're saying that approaching the ocean with friendliness in mind will get it to notice you and like you?

That is exactly what we believe.

And does that really keep you safe from storms?

*laughter* Oh, no no no! That's worship thinking. We don't pretend that being nice to the ocean will calm him down, and that's not our objective in the first place. Being safe at sea comes down to being smart, aware, prepared, and most of all lucky. Being the ocean's friend means appreciating him for the powerful and beautiful being he is, not begging him for favors. We know he doesn't rage on purpose to hurt anyone, and we love him as much when he's angry as when he's calm.

(I was speechless in awe for a breath or two.) That...that is... (And again.) You're right, that's the truest friendship there is. You really do believe it's sentient.

How do you know he isn't? The ocean has more vitality than many things we accept as being alive, and is far more complicated than anything we accept as being intelligent. His currents circulate like blood. Tides rise and fall as steadily as breathing-

Wait a beat. Tides aren't something the ocean controls. We can predict them just by knowing where the moon is. I can hold my breath when I want to, but the tides never EVER change when they happen.

Oh, everyone knows the tides are related to the moon. But does anyone know why? It may be that whatever his relationship is with the moon is something he can't change, but that doesn't make the tides a mindless action. We, his friends, look at the tides as the ocean's greeting to the land. We all have our own routines to follow, and when we pass the same people on our way we still nod politely, don't we?

I suppose so. Then, the thing about giving the focus to the ocean, that's your way of nodding back?

This? No. There are other things we share with the ocean, but this has its own purpose.

This interview continues in

Type

Religious, Other