I recently finished watching the documentary Maiden, which tells the story of Tracy Edwards who skippered the first all-female yacht crew to race in the Whitbread Race Around the World in 1989. The race is long and grueling, taking many months to sail completely around the globe. Tracy formed the crew because she had a passion to race across the ocean and none of the male crews wanted a woman on board. They were young and relatively inexperienced, racing on a second-hand boat. Male members of the press took bets on whether they would even last out the first leg of the race. Others were patronizingly surprised the first time they won one of those legs.
Their path to the race was even longer than the race itself, and they ran into many obstacles finding an affordable boat, painstakingly restoring it themselves and spending 2 years canvassing hundreds of businesses to get the necessary sponsorships. But what comes through in their story is that they persevered and held alive their dream of racing no matter what. Closer and closer to the race date, things began to come together as funding finally came through and some final changes to the crew were made to create a solid, well-oiled team. They had built a momentum with their unwavering belief in themselves, and once it got traction, their support continued to grow.
Though they didn’t win the race, they did finish first in their size division for two legs of the journey and inspired thousands who rooted for them and acknowledged the enormity of what they accomplished against such odds and with so little initial support. Their successes had a huge impact for many women in sports to follow.
This story is a beautiful example of Divine Self Belief. When you know in your heart that it will be so for the highest good of all, then universal forces, or Source consciousness, are in alignment to support that vision beyond your wildest imagination. This kind of belief comes from within and takes us beyond our perceived limitations to create miracles. I have a mat inside my door that I can read as I walk out into the world and it reminds me that “all things are possible if you believe…” (quoted from a translation of Mark 9:23).
picture courtesy of https://pixabay.com/photos/sailboats-race-yachts-yacht-racing-1375064/