My Turn: State of the world can leave you seasick

By ANNIE CHEATHAM

Published: 02-04-2025 4:57 PM

 

Hoping our ship, our U.S. democracy, is strong enough to weather this storm.

This is a time when a person could get seasick. Terrorists in various countries are driving into pedestrians celebrating in the streets. Research is booming for newfangled bombs carried by small drones. Warfare now means leveling to the ground every structure regardless of what life exists there.

Political and social norms, formerly strong and dependable, are being ignored or abandoned. Our president says one thing one day, and the next day says, “Oh no, I didn’t mean that.” Cabinet appointees are on record promising to demolish the agencies they are hired to lead. Congressional leaders live in fear of being “primaried.” Supreme Court justices write their own ethics rules, then break them. China and India use U.S. innovations to create new, cheaper, and better products. Robots and autonomous vehicles are replacing workers around the world.

This is a storm, and at 4 a.m. last night, I felt seasick.

Years ago, an elderly English gentleman and frequent passenger on ships gave me some tips on how to keep myself well during storms at sea. We were on board an overnight ferry between Taiwan and Hong Kong. Rough seas were forecast in the Taiwan Strait that night and as we sat in the bar after dinner, he had some advice for me.

1. Don’t stay in your cabin, pitching and rolling with the ship. Your body will respond by heaving your dinner out and you won’t be able to sleep or rest anyway. Get up.

2. Go to the bridge or to a window where you can see out. If possible, breathe in the fresh, salty air.

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3. Find the horizon, the level line far beyond the ship’s bow. When you look at the horizon, your legs will anticipate the next heave and roll. Your stomach won’t lurch from one plunge to another. You can stabilize your innards even if you can’t stop the storm.

4. Get to know other passengers who aren’t seasick. You’ll find that people in a storm are interesting to talk to. You’re experiencing a dangerous situation together, and you may need each other to survive.

This advice has helped me in the last few months. I can’t do anything about the storm we are in and the storm is not going to go away. All I can do is find the points on my horizon and not get seasick. Sometimes I use prayer. Sometimes a book or a piece of music will steady my nerves. Sometimes a group gathering will do it.

Ships move through storms. They don’t shut down their engines and sit in heaving oceans. They plow straight into the waves. They make progress. And storms pass.

We have to keep hope alive that our ship, our democracy, is strong enough to get through this storm. So hang onto those horizon points in your life. Nurture them, remember them, touch them, share them. Keep yourself from getting seasick as much as you can.

See you on deck.

Annie Cheatham lives in Conway.