We talked a bit in Driftology 102 about the difference between drifting and falling overboard.  While falling overboard seems more serious—and it is in the sense that if the person is not rescued promptly the current will take him downstream in a hurry, if not drown him—the drifter is not in much better shape.  He is all the while drifting along with the current, but feels good about himself because he is at least “still in the boat”.

How do we tell if we are drifting?

I like the analogy given by a preacher once of a bunch of boats on a bay.  As long as the boats keep looking at each and monitoring their position by each other, no one will give heed to the fact that every last one of them is being carried along with an unseen undercurrent.  They are still the same distance from each other as 12 hours ago…  Never mind that they all have drifted 2 and a half miles along the coast. Read the rest of this entry »