You live on an island. This island is your world, and on it you have everything you need.

The island you live on is nice enough, except that it does feel very much like an island, in that although you are surrounded by a great many other islands, you often feel isolated and cut off, with the result that you are alone with only your own thoughts, feelings and emotions. Loneliness is the name you give your island and you long to get to know the rest of the world.

Then one day a ship comes to dock at your island. Excited, you run down to the shore to meet the ship, and you find standing on the deck a very impressive-looking man whom you assume to be the captain.

You are so excited that you hardly greet the man before begging him to grant you passage aboard his ship. With much gesticulating you explain to him how lonely you are, that you want to get off your island and that you would like to get to know the rest of the world.

Whilst you are talking, the captain of the ship stands quietly, listening attentively to your tale, and even for some time after you have finished speaking he still observes you silently. Finally, just as you are about to ask him once more for passage, the man starts to speak.

"I am Captain Life", he says, "And I am indeed Captain of this ship. But I must warn you that my ship is no ordinary ship, for it is the Ship of Adjustment. If you wish to have passage aboard my ship, it shall be granted, but only on the terms I shall set."

"Yes!" you reply eagerly. "Oh, yes! I will do anything that you command, and I will pay you any fee you ask for."

Again the man looks at you for a long while in silence before replying.

"I charge no fee for passage, for if I were to charge you for travelling aboard the Ship of Adjustment, you would never be able to afford the passage. But these are my terms.

"Firstly, when you come aboard my ship you may not bring with you any books, or photographs, or paintings. Instead you will bring only a pen and blank paper. Secondly, you must not bring with you any clothing or shoes of any description, but you may clothe yourself in only a white cotton sheet. Thirdly, you may wear no jewellery or weapons upon your person - only a laurel crown and a garland of wild flowers. Fourthly, you must cast your watch into the sea. And finally, before you will be allowed to leave my ship, you will be required to give me a special password which you will have to try and learn whilst taking passage aboard the Ship of Adjustment. Should you try to cheat in any way whatsoever, or fail to give the correct password at the end of your journey, you will forfeit your life."

Such is the plot of our story, the story of you and me, the story of you and someone else, the story of you and many others, the story of you and the world out there and, most important of all, the story of you and your own inner self.

Welcome aboard the Ship of Adjustment, but see to it that you pay the most careful attention to the terms of Captain Life, for we can forfeit our lives in many different ways, not necessarily only through physical death. Therefore let us consider each of Captain Life's terms, one by one, but since this is to be your story, I cannot give you the answers, simply because my answers are right only for me, and so they will not necessarily be right for you.

Each of us must find out for ourselves what the terms laid down by Captain Life really mean, and how best we as individuals must adjust in order to meet those terms. However, the password we are required to learn during our passage through life is the same for all of us.

So, bon-voyage!
Enjoy the journey!