Manning and Training
A Message of Support
“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” Haruki Murakami They say that when the storm is over, you will be a completely different person. And all of you are still coping, fighting against an invisible storm, which is called COVID-19 with patience, bravery and resilience. When the world froze in the face of this pandemic, you were the ones that remained in the front line carrying goods, offering your services around the clock. Despite the By Chara Markatzinou, uncertainty that was spreading across Training Coordinator the globe, you managed to remain mindful, courageous, supportive to your shipmates and inspiring to us all with the example you set. You are truly the unsung heroes at this time of distress. It is true that this pandemic has changed our lives. Most consider this has been a blessing in disguise. It may be the case that COVID-19 has offered us an unwrapped present of sincerity, patience and teamwork, which will eventually lead to connection and love. We have come to appreciate the simple things in our everyday lives that had previously gone unnoticed. We worked together as a team, and in the process built stronger bonds. Spiritual teachers believe that life will give us the experience that is most helpful for our evolution, for the evolution of our consciousness. Try to think for a minute what is different for you now during this period. Try to discover your blessing during the COVID-19 era. Notwithstanding, we could not agree more that staying away from home longer, away from your loved ones only made things more difficult. Waiting for your disembarkation, for the “good news” from the agent that crew changes are allowed to take place at a specific port, can be rather stressful. Therefore, we decided to contact your families and ask them to boost your morale by preparing a message of support, a message of love, a message to accompany you until such time that you would be reunited with them. When we initiated a request to our manning offices to collect messages of support from the Seafarers' families and/or other Seamen ashore, we could never have imagined how many messages that are full of love, support, hope and inspiration would be sent. We could not be more grateful for that! Nowadays, technology makes communication so easy and fast that these messages could have been delivered to each and every one of you directly through your families. Nonetheless, we preferred to engage all our Seamen's families in this effort to provide you with a kind word of support, acknowledgement of your important work, patience, hope and love. All the messages are sprinkled
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Issue 72-June 2020
with positive energy, care and gratitude to all of you for remaining on board and performing your duty with care during this unprecedented era. We enjoyed working as a team to prepare these messages with your families. Most of the messages received were personalized ones, and therefore, were forwarded to their addressees. Still, we have collected some of them which were addressed to all Seamen on board and prepared this colourful collage.
Ultimately, the greatest lesson that COVID-19 can teach humanity is that we are all in this together. Remember, “Life’s roughest storms prove the strength of our anchors”. Our thoughts and prayers remain with you, while our gratitude to all our Seamen grows bigger day by day. The messages received were all very inspiring and touching. For this, we cannot thank you more. To close, we would like to share with you a “mantra” that was communicated to us by one of our Trainee Officers, Mr. Arun KUMAR. It is a short prayer to start your day, one that will give you strength and patience; one that will empower you. “I am happy I am a divine soul I am a peaceful soul I am healthy My family is united and healthy” Keep walking through the storm. Your rainbow is waiting on the other side.
