Whats in a name?
You may be wondering why we chose the name ‘Narrowboattlc’ so I thought a little explanation might be in order.
Of course, most of us think of TLC as tender loving care, or at least we do if we are of a certain age. It may mean something totally different to the young (think ‘lol’ which to me means ‘lots of love’ – took me a while to realise that to my children it means ‘laugh out loud’). However to me the T stands for TIME. Something most of us never seem to have enough of (although lockdown has altered that for many) but we are hoping on this journey to settle into a slower pace of life, losing our natural impatience to get everything done in double quick time and trying not to become agitated when things we want to achieve do not happen instantly or don’t go to plan.
The L represents LIFE and what it means to live. Of course all our lives are different and are the culmination of previous experiences and upbringing so it is good to learn from one another and to recognise that for some choices are limited, or their lives are the result of circumstances beyond their control. To have time to reflect on life in all its multi-faceted dimensions is a gift which we hope to unwrap.
As our journey has gone on I also realise that L stands for LISTEN. So many people we have met want to be heard and have things to share and for us to reflect upon and learn. It’s so easy to do all the talking!! Listening well and reflecting back to show that you have understood what has been said to you does not always come easily, especially if your mind is already preoccupied with other thoughts. So learning to listen well is something our journey is all about.
Thc C stands for CHAT. Not only do we want to chat to those we meet on our journey, whether other boaters or towpath walkers, we also want to listen to their stories and gain an understanding of what life means to them. We also want to chat to God – that afterall is what prayer essentially is – a conversation with our Father, but listening to Him answering our prayers is also a skill to be nurtured.
NarrowboatTLC 