Safe Harbor
A safe harbor originally referred to a place where ships were safe from the turbulent sea. It is also used as a legal term meaning a provision used to eliminate legal liability in certain situations, accounting methods to avoid legal or tax regulations and it’s used in finance, real estate and legal industries. Safe Harbor also refers to a ‘shark repellent’ tactic used by companies to avoid a hostile takeover.
The following edited excerpt from a post by Robert Kells caught my eye. It talks about ships and safe harbors, the human imagination and desire for adventure to grow beyond our boundaries. I think it’s a good description of the nature of Geocachers and the game of Geocaching.
“A ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not why ships are built. Throughout time, the open waters of our world have captured the human imagination and been a natural force that calls many far away from safe harbors. Just like The Sirens of Homer's Odyssey (700 BC), the open water often calls us to leave shore and explore, seek new possibilities, and both stretch and grow beyond our real and perceived boundaries to experience adventure. There are managers and organizations who only seek safe harbors and refuse to leave shore, as well as bold leaders who take ships out to the open water to test their mettle and change the world. Consider that water covers more than 71% of the Earth’s surface, there are plenty of safe harbors and abundant opportunities to take our ships out into the vast, unpredictable open waters where the big things can and usually do happen!”