A Ship is Safe In the Harbor

Eleven years ago, around this time of year, the world lost a bright shining star. It feels like a long time has passed, yet I’ve only met a handful of people since who lived as authentically, openly, and lovingly as Brad did. 

The way he lived—and the suddenness of his passing—gave me the courage to walk away from what I thought was my dream job, pack up everything, and take a leap for love. That decision shaped the course of my life.

One of Brad’s favorite pieces of writing was “A Ship is Safe in the Harbor” by Gael Attal, itself inspired by a line from John Shedd in 1981. He kept it by his mirror as a daily reminder.

For years, I interpreted the words as an encouragement to get out into the world—travel, explore, do as much as you can while you’re here. But as I’ve grown older, the meaning has shifted. Stepping outside our comfort zones isn’t only about chasing adventure. It’s also about widening our perspective and breaking through the narrative.

We live in a time where the world feels increasingly divided—by borders, by opinions, by the noise of everyday life. But this poem reminds me that, like ships built for the open sea, we are meant to move, to grow, to connect. Most all, to not succumb to the fear of the unknown. Life isn’t about anchoring down in what’s familiar—it’s about braving the seas, even when they’re uncertain, because that’s where meaning is found.

May you be brave, be curious, and b-rad.

A Ship is Safe in the Harbor
By Gael Attal

A ship is safe in the harbor,
But that's not what ships are built for.

Because in the sum of our human gleams,
We have created the vessel for our dreams.

Its purpose: to retrieve the alien shore,
To scout, seek, achieve and explore.

A ship is meant to fly and fly,
To seize the horizon and capture the sky.

And the few of us with the intrepidity,
To brave the virulent vortex velocity

We are the wealthiest of men ever to dream
And ever to combat a sea or a stream.

And the harbored ships that fritter away,
Slowly begin to rot and decay.
Never has there been a greater waste of a day,
Than that spent harbored,
Than those of us who stay.