Solo Intentions

Halloween masqueraded the fact that November was a planned change. How big a change took a few days to appreciate. After months of 24/7 living with Jamila – she was gone.

There is a well accepted rule of thumb or adage amongst live aboard cruising folks.

One year of living aboard (together) is the equivalent of 7 years of normal land based living together. There are a host of reasons why this is accurate but after 7 months of living together on board – being solo was a highly noticeable adjustment.

Neighbors dispensed culinary gifts. Late one evening a knock on the hull was followed by the gift of a 12 lb Coho. It was both gorgeous and delicious providing meals for several days.

The marina with the social distractions and condo style living offered numerous excuses to not complete the fresh white board list of "to do's". The all important promise, to myself, of having it all completed by the time Thanksgiving arrived seemed very doable. Then one chilly morning there was suddenly not enough time to finish it all.

Finally the pacific NW began to live up to its name. The increasing darkness brought cold and rain.

It was time for appreciation and gratitude. For the incredible months of beautiful weather, scenery, incredible partnership and learning the language and idiosyncrasies of a new vessel. Being in a marina with the external focus of interacting with people was a far cry from either the privacy of anchoring or being at our normal solo dock. The return to cruising life had generated multiple awarenesses.

The rhythms and cycles of nature are never far away on the water. Tides, currents, cloud patterns, wave direction, the seal eyeing you from the swim platform, and so much more serve as reminders of the bigger picture that we were only one small item in.

When people ask you about an experience, any experience that changes your view of life, how you be or live, the chances are slim that either you will be able to articulate the shifts. Subtle or major unless you are a master word smith or they have undergone something similar.

“Profound, immensely rewarding, difficult to put words to.” Said with a smile this describes years of peak and breakthrough experiences that span a wide range of events from Plant Medicine journeys to guiding a boat down the face of 15’ breaking waves to traveling out of body with friends. Some things just have to be experienced to avoid being relegated to the territory of beliefs and theories.