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Drifting

Tuesday, December 13, 2011


I learned to sail in Australia. The more I relive those three days on the SV Whitehaven, the more I reminisce a conversation I had with the deckhand.

I boarded a plane for a continent 14,000 kilometers away to escape. I escaped the inevitability of being yet another college graduate without a clue of what to do next.
But every time I hear wind surge through hanging sheets or the creak of old wood, I am brought back to the day I laid under the Queensland sun. Cigar smoke drifting inches above my freckled skin, I was rambling to the deckhand about life and wondering whether I was doing it right when I can't even remember to brush my hair or email home. He smiled a crooked smile and told me something I'll never forget.

He said, "The only way to lose your way is to follow something other than your own truth."

Figuring out your truth may seem a distant notion when many of us perform repetitive jobs in order to pay rent and buy pre-packaged meals under the fluorescent glow of a supermarket.

Maybe my life doesn't look like other people's, who seem to have it figured out. I'm more on the way than already there. Maybe the only requirement is to keep heading toward the general coordinates and let the wind take care of the rest. 

3 comments:

  1. Um... thank you for this! I LOVED THIS! Thats so cool too that you got to learn how to sail in Australia. Where are you orginially from?
    I've traveled to lots and lots of places (in Europe mostly, I've been almost everywhere in Europe) and Israel and America and Canada... but now I want to see the OTHER side of the world. One day hopefully... one day :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi! Thanks! I am from Portland, OR in the States originally. Best of luck with your travels :)

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  2. Agreed. Love thinking about the sound of wind whipping the sails and creaking wooden boats. Great post and blog! Thanks for commenting on mine. Come back soon. Happy travels!

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