“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…” - President John F. Kennedy, 1962
During the Atlantic Crossing the whole crew listened to the ‘13 minutes to the Moon’ podcast by BBC World Service and the quote above from John F. Kennedy was played many times. It really caught my attention and somehow inspired this blog article.
I have been asking THE question “why am I sailing around the world?” more and more frequently in the past couple of days, and weeks. As the start of the rally fast approaches, I feel more need to have a decent answer to this question: Why am I putting my land-life on pause for almost two years? Why does it seem so mesmerising to think about myself on a boat in the middle of all the oceans? Why do I need such an extraordinary challenge?
The following answers came to my mind in the form of further questions:
Is it a ‘bucket list’ tick?
Am I using it to put off other decisions?
Do I feel restless in my ‘London big city life’?
Am I seeking something, or someone?
Do I want to prove something?
Do I want to delay a decision?
Am I looking for something to belong to, or to fit in with?
Do I need a ‘long-term’ commitment?
Do I want to do something remarkable to make myself proud?
Do I need to find new ways to live my life as I am not happy in the current one?
I’ve concluded that it is none of the above, or maybe all of the above, but expressed differently.
My first reason for taking on this adventure now is to fulfil a deep desire to complete something unfinished.
When I first sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 2019, at the end I felt that there was unfinished business between me and bluewater sailing. I enjoyed the state of mind when hope or will didn’t count.
Imagine that you are in the hands of mother nature and you truly feel insignificant, tiny like an ant in the rainforest or a raindrop in the ocean. You just sail, eat, sleep and repeat. You are never really tired or rested. The only thing that matters is keeping the boat in motion, ideally in the right direction and if you are not on watch, sleep every single time when you feel sleepy, even for 10 minutes, if you can.
It may sound like the worst nightmare and torture for some of you but not for me (and many other people). We are all different and that’s ok.
I choose to sail around the world, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard. That’s what I was born for. Doing unorthodox things. Being a maverick - an independent-minded person - who is living a life she decided to live.
My second reason for sailing around the world is that I am curious about how people in different cultures live their life. I would like to learn from them and become a better version of myself for the second half of my life.
Shaun (my co-author) writes the following in his intro: “From my personal perspective, despite understanding how awesome it was - sailing around the world - I just couldn’t see the appeal of what Beata was taking on. I really dislike travelling. I also get really seasick. Sailing around the world is just about the last thing you would find me doing.”
Shaun is the opposite of me with regards to what makes him feel alive but despite this, we are really good friends and colleagues. So if you are a “not to travel” fan, make sure to read his previous blogs! People often prefer to surround themselves with like minded people but there is something in the old adage that ‘opposites attract’ (not just in love but in friendship and life more widely).
I have full respect for those who are happy being settled and knowing the name of the baker and butcher in their town. Who are excited to enjoy how seasons change in the environment they know inside out. It has its beauty just as travelling through 28 countries in 15 months does.
Both in my private and professional life, I had always been surrounded by highly educated, intelligent people who more or less had a flexible view about life. They were open to unorthodox views which I appreciated very much, but it was a pretty homogenous group. Mainly white middle aged women and men from western countries. I hope that this journey will give me new and different options on how life could be lived.
My third reason for sailing around the world now is because I can commit to such a long term adventure now.
One of my favourite books (written by Liz Clark) is called Swell: A Sailing Surfer’s Voyage of Awakening. Liz talks about the importance of not waiting to do big adventures until life responsibilities anchor us.
I decided three years ago that sooner rather than later I will become a circumnavigator. Eighteen months ago it became official when we signed up to the World ARC. And in one day, it’s actually starting. I have planned every month, week and day since 2019 to be able to get there and as we all know, everything comes with a price. I worked crazy hours to get promoted and earn more, I was saving on everything I could, I was mindful about NOT getting too involved in love affairs and even decided not to adopt a cat.
Big opportunities like this are not coincidences. They require one to be persistent, selfish and a little bit crazy.
So the time has come and I am ready to try. I am ready to try to make my 8 years old self and 80 years old self proud by becoming one of the few Hungarian circumnavigators.
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