This play about Sir Thomas Moore ends with the common saying, "It isn't difficult to keep alive, friends - just don't make trouble..." This reminds of the idea I was taught of not rocking the boat. It is a bad thing to rock the boat, or so I was always told. As I have gotten older and watched myself I find that when I did not rock the boat, I did not get in trouble but I was not happy. I knew that I was playing it safe but not right.
There was this really big decision that I had to make many years ago, and I really fought rocking the boat. Don't do it was all I could hear but I knew it was making me miserable. I was hating myself and my life. I was enduring it all. I finally took the step saying I would rather drown that not rock the boat. So rock it I did. I survived it and it was a great decision for me. It was the right thing to do. It was so scary at the time to go against this idea.
I was lucky. Sir Thomas Moore attempted to not rock the boat by his silence. Galileo attempted to not rock the boat by recanting his works. It is so risky to not rock the boat. Joan of Arc rocked the boat and look what happened to her.
How do we determine when to rock the boat and when not to? When we choose to rock the boat, is it for the right reasons? Can we live with the consequences? Tough tough questions to think about.