Learning the ropes

-by Mike-

I’ve always struggled with being present. Learning to be in the moment has been a focus of mine for the better part of the last year. Buying a blue water sailboat and setting off over the horizon has been a dream of mine for years now, and here I am actually fulfilling that dream far sooner than I ever expected. I should feel blissful and ecstatic, right?

The number of things to do when you sell nearly everything you own, buy a boat, move aboard, prepare it for crossing oceans, and set off to cruise full time is endless. A lot of people never leave because they can’t check everything off the list. The truth is, the boat will never be totally ready, and in our case neither will we. Sometimes you just have to take the plunge. This ceaseless and sometimes frantic process of boat work, researching equipment, making purchases, and stressing over costs makes that whole being “in the moment” thing hard. We were working on projects up to the last second, and I found myself being caught up in the momentum instead of truly being there to enjoy it. Even though I was aware of this, when I tried to take a moment to let the whole thing settle in, I found myself getting anxious about how I wasn’t being productive. In my professional life I learned the power of breath. It is amazing how taking one, deep, slow breath can slow your heart rate and clear your mind. Don’t forget to Breathe, Mike.

We’ve sailed well over 500 miles now, through the San Juan’s, down to Seattle and back to Bellingham. Handling Via is becoming familiar. We have sailed in winds pushing 35 knots, sometimes against a strong current which created steep, lumpy and confused seas. We’re beginners, but our learning curve has been steep. I figure in the months before we head down the coast we will have gotten more experience than many people get in a decade of seasonal sailing. We still may not be fully ready, but we’re getting closer.

And what about being present? I’m getting better at it. Taylor is miles ahead of me on this, and she has a great reading selection on the topic. Currently I am finding The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle to be pretty eye opening. Like learning to sail, it is a process, and one that I am only just beginning.