Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts

In these times

There is a growing hole in my heart for all the people around the world that is continuing to suffer, who have lost their homes, their parents, kids, friends, grandparents, siblings, neighbors - to unnatural deaths caused by war, deadly diseases, attacks, food poisoning, vaccines and over-medication brought upon them by their (or another country's) government whose manipulation and control of the system, media and society is rapidly growing. We are soon outliving the last generation where most still have had the fortune of dying a natural death, and in my darkest moments I feel humanity is close to its own self caused destruction. 

I’ve cried, for all those millions of innocent people, first thinking it was an uncommonly severe form of PMS i was going through this month, but after the week had passed, I still cried. From the depths of my heart, a quiet, bottomless cry of sincere sadness and frustration. Knowing fully well my tears won’t help any persons situation, except flush my mind and cleanse my tinted heavy heart.

Life has always been precious, I’ve always been the first to promote a “live life to the fullest” attitude, but more now than ever, do I feel it is important to live true to ones beliefs and do what good we can with the time we have left. I don’t mean to put a damper on your new-year mood, but really, there are things we are in much less control of today than in the past. Real freedom is not as easily achieved as one might think. And unless we escape to the most remote place on earth which with a sky full of satellites and Google earth on each man’s computer doesn’t even exist any more, we are all part of the problem no matter we want it or not.

No matter how well we manage to avoid the corrupt and one sided mainstream media, we are still consumers. Consumers of this man-made utopia, a dream created by a few which is orchestrated so well that we have fooled ourselves to believe it so hard that we’ve made it into our own dreams. But truth is most of us are living and serving someone else’s vision more than our own. Like a dutiful citizen, the best sort of slave who doesn’t even understand it is being used and made use of. Who doesn’t understand that the hatred and bigotry they’re growing from within is a manufactured result of someone else’s greed and imperial aggression. A manipulated idea wrongly placed upon yet another naive human beings shoulders. Traumatizing its perception and ability to make his or her own decisions.
The more time that passes, the more that I see, know and learn, the smaller and closer do I build my world. Effectively I cut off what’s not meant to be there in the first place, clean the weed and add more love and sincerity into the things and people that are my most important, the strong pillars of my fort, my private life.

If I were to point out some of the most important of all aspects in a human beings life which helps maintain some sense of freedom, this is what I’d find:

Drink and eat healthy - Hydrating a human body is the single most important thing for our survival. Make sure to filter your tap water very well as it in many cities around the globe, especially here in the USA, contain a too high level of Fluoride (which is purposely added by the government), among other unwanted chemicals and pollutants such as lead and mercury. A Brita or Soma pitcher does not remove these invisible particles. There are great counter top filtration systems for around $200 and they last for as long as you take good care of it. Read more in this informative post by Wellness Mama. And here if you want to know how Fluoride, a highly toxic byproduct from the fertilizer industry, is bad for you.

Buy local organic food to the greatest extent you can. Non processed and no factory farmed foods obviously. Learn to cook your own meals. As long as you rely on others to do it for you, you will be in no charge of what goes into your body. Do you really want to leave that important aspect up to someone else?

Be selective - Regarding everything from food to choice of friends and partner. Understand your value: you are worth as much as anyone and everyone else and can make your own choices without having to justify or explain to anyone. Ask yourself: What is essential? Then eliminate the rest. Say no to events and activities of less value so you can give yourself fully to that what really matters.

Remove every sort of relationship/friendship that doesn't make you feel real good. The ones that makes your heart feel heavy and uncomfortable instead of uplifted. The ones that care more about themselves than others. The ones that pick on you or try to make you feel smaller only because of their own demons and insecurities. The ones that constantly talk shit about others because you know it, they'll do the same when you're not around. Learn to, and do not be afraid of demanding peace and harmony for your life. Drop people from your life who cannot stick to the truth and who don't prioritize honesty in the way you do. Say no to small people drama, you've got better things to do than be concerned for others who clearly need to work on themselves first. If you want to respect yourself and attract good people into your life, these are the choices you must make. But don't forget to live up to your ideals yourself, as well.

Follow your passion - What are your inner desires? Is there a possibility you can explore them, and not only dream about them? In most cases, it is the self that puts stop on fulfilling dreams, but only because you placed mental obstacles in your head. Stop doing that. Write down pros and cons with your current situation and another, more ideal situation. You might find that the good aspects of your current life overshadows the negative after all which in that case is great. Or, you could find out that a change is needed. Don’t be afraid of changes. They make you grow and you’ll find corners of life and yourself you've never discovered before. Email me if you have any doubt or if I can be of any help. I'm serious. We all deserve to do the things we've always dreamed of. Who knows how much time there is left. If you on the other hand are a homebody that prefer the comfort of the couch and a safe salary in the end of the month, don't be afraid to admitting it. Nothing wrong with that as long as you are ok with it and as long as you don't lie to yourself.

Stop stressing - Don't stress about all the things you should or should not do. Take your time. Your path is your path, no one else can ever know or feel what you are going through. Try and find peace in each process. It doesn't matter how long time it takes for you to accomplish/finish/initiate whatever it might be, it only matters that you know that you are on your way. Or that you are taking it easy for a while. I love the easy, reflective in-between moments, those are the times I gain perspective and can examine life and situations objectively.

Say no - You don't really need to do anything, no I'm serious. That is my standing point. These days, I only ever do the things that feels good and right, right then. I have nothing to prove to anyone. Whatever I want to do in life, I will do my best to achieve them one by one when time is right for each. Not going to rush it. It might be tempting to say yes to that offer or that event, just because it might lead to something later. Or because they pay well or whatever it might be. But if it's not truly what you want and not something that feels good in your stomach, why bother? I'm pretty good at avoiding such traps and as I get older I find security in knowing that when I am ready and fully prepared, I will do whatever it is I will be doing, but strictly my way.

Sleep well  - I prioritize this highly. Much above late nights and most sort of events. It's a good day that starts with feeling recharged. If you add a bit of stretching/yoga/exercise in the morning followed by a fiber and vitamin packed breakfast, that is a perfect start of each day, for me.

Spend less, enjoy real life more - Do you really need 25 pair of jeans and four TV's? Our society has made us believe we need so much of everything. Obsessive consumption is a sickness as much as alcoholism, although more expensive (hopefully). I see shopping as one of the great distractions in society. Constantly wanting and needing new products/gadgets/clothes distract people from really important things. It also makes you a slave to consumption and to the companies that only sell their products for profit, and not so much to make you happy. For each dollar you save on shopping, you can add that to your dream travel or dream project account. Spend the money on visiting friends or family. Or buy yourself freedom in the form of an apartment, other property, a car or why not a boat?

And then email me if you find a totally remote place far from all the political madness of the world as we know it. Though I'm guessing I'd need a spaceship for that.

10 comments

about work and education

I got a comment from a Swedish reader called Karin a while ago:  

Taru! Jag tänker ofta på det här med utbildning. Vet att du inte har någon eftergymnasial utbildning. Hur har det definierat dig? Har det satt käppar i hjulet för dig? Är det något du vill göra? Vad säger du om dagens samhälle och system där det mer eller mindre bygger på att alla ska ha en universitetsutbildning? Vart tror du samhället är påväg? Måste man ha en universitetsutbildning för att klara sig? Hade gärna velat höra dina tankegångar då du själv nämnt detta tidigare men inte djupare än så.

Translation: Taru! I often think about education. I know that you do not have a post-secondary education. How has it defined you? Does it put a spoke in the wheel for you? Is that anything you'd want to do? What about today's society and the system in which it is more or less based on that everyone should have a university degree? Where do you think the society is heading? Do you need to have a university degree to get by? Would like to hear your thoughts, you've only briefly touched this subject earlier.

Disclaimer. Do not use me as an example if:

- You look for safety and stability at all times.
- It is important to you what people think about your life and career path.
- You prefer comfort before challenge.
- You can't imagine yourself being broke.
- You know exactly what your life calling is as far as work goes and you wish to learn all in relation to it.

You may take my advice if one or all of these apply to you:

- You value life experience and adventure before comfort.
- You do not mind taking a random extra job in between profitable self employment.
- You don't mind being broke every now and then because you know you'll always survive (somehow).
- You appreciate challenge
- You trust yourself and that things will solve themselves as time goes by and while you do your best.
- Uncertainty and the unknown is exciting.
- You want to develop and refine your personality before you decide which exact path to take.
- You realize that life is about the journey and thus you want to experience as much as possible.
- Freedom is of utmost importance to you.

To start with, I can tell you that I have never really thought of getting a degree of any sort. In fact, I couldn't wait to get the hell out of school with its non-practical teachings and get to try my own wings instead. Due to a high degree of absenteeism in high school, I didn't even finish with appropriate documentation. I would say that learning has always come easy to me, my teachers were always pleased with the level of my knowledge and my knack for remembering and learning things very easily. It just wasn't what I felt my life needed at the time. I wanted to know real things. About real life. And I have always wanted to love what I do. I did not love school.

I studied three years of Business and Administration in high school (for non Swedes: Swedish high school normally happens between the age of 17-19 and you study your orientation of choice). But even though I attended classes very seldom (too busy partying and hanging out with friends), I think I am the only one in my class that have actually founded and ran my own businesses later on in life. It seems to come naturally for me.

The fact that I was distracted by more fun things in those early years hasn't really hurt me that much, it rather helped me gather a lot of important social knowledge. I worked in a variety of different places to support myself: food stores, cleaning hotel rooms, booked conferences, served at restaurants. And whenever later on that I stumbled upon a business idea (first one came at 21), I made everything I could to make them happen. My motivation was fueled by the strong will of being free and becoming independent. I did not want to give away my valuable time, energy and manpower to people who profited of it more than myself. I wanted to be on top of all things. I guess I was born with an innate sense of "I can do this" and "if they can do it, so can I".

I think a higher education might be really good for certain professions and careers, but for an aspiring entrepreneur with a lot of will and ambition, it is not necessary. A course or degree in business administration/economy/management might be helpful. But even without it, I know of people who've learned everything they know by themselves. Because they're curious and want to learn. I have since I was very young relied on my own abilities. And I've always been very good at absorbing information, at making use of ideas that come my way as well as picking people's brains on important knowledge.

I had always wanted to become a business owner. So I made sure to surround myself with people who were business owners and learned all I could from them. I wanted to work in fashion. And without any prior experience but rather a keen interest in it, I called up fashion brands in NYC, booked meetings with them, flew there alone to bring their brands over to Sweden and that was the start of opening my own fashion store. 

When eating out and partying was the most important thing in my life, I started a web portal for tourists visiting Barcelona, recommending the best of nightlife, dining and shopping that the city had to offer. When I wanted to take my passion for travel to another level, I founded a blog around that interest and made money out of it. I have always loved photographing, so I made sure to find clients to build my portfolio.

Now that (vegan) food and nutrition is my most recent passion, I have founded a company in which I cook and bake healthy, organic, vegan food (that is after I've spent almost a year of working for other restaurants, catering companies and cafés here to gain experience). I'd always strive for turning my interests and passions into money makers just so that I didn't have to waste time on someone else's dreams and ideas. Sometimes my attempts had good results, but they have all turned into valuable lessons regardless of outcome.

The fear of failure has never held me back. The potential worry of not knowing enough has not stopped me either. I have always made sure to learn what I needed to know. I've taken help from people more knowledgeable than myself. Practiced all what I could. I've never received financial help from family, instead I invented ways that would help me bring my ideas to life. I think also that since I grew up with not having much, I was never afraid of being broke in search of entrepreneurial success. Being penniless every once in a while is a risk you must take living the way I have done, with the background I had. 

But I must say that without my best friends, there have been moments when I would have struggled more. I don't know how many times I have had to call my friends from the other side of the world, asking for a quick loan. And obviously since always paying back to the people that have helped you is a fundamental core value of mine, they still would never hesitate helping me out would there need be. And they know I would always do the same for them. Extremely thankful for the people I have in my life and whom have saved my ass many a time.

Back to your question: I don't experience that I have suffered from not having a post secondary education, because I have never wanted or felt that I needed one. But if I would've been a person that wanted to become something that needed a higher education, I would have made sure to get my degrees. It all depends on whatever you want to do and where you see yourself in the future. If it's a lawyer you dream of becoming, I would recommend you studying hard, but combine it with practical knowledge. If you'd want to become a psychiatrist, I would not recommend you jumping onto a five year long education without some proper life experience in your baggage first. If you dream of one day opening your own art gallery, I'd probably recommend you date a gallery owner and or different painters/artists, and then taking help from books and dear Google to get your feet wet before you send in your application to an art institute. Because how can you know what you want to do for the next four, five years if you barely know yourself and the world you live in?

A university degree is good, but not everything. There are many other ways to learn. There are many potential mentors out there that sits on all the information you're looking for. I promise you it's a hell of a lot more interesting spending good times with someone who's gone through it all, rather than wasting five days a week in class.

My years of jumping in between business ventures has been a good learning curve for me. An elongate time that has allowed me to experiment with life, with my own ideas. Imagine if I would have signed up for a design school and studied to fashion designer at the age of 21, and only a few years later discover what I discovered while running my fashion store. That the fashion world is a schizophrenic industry in which you are supposed to change your opinion four times a year. An industry that is filled with vanity, corruption and constant marketing of unethical products and ideals. I feel that I have avoided disappointments and confusions by always following my instincts and gut feelings rather than the "normal" way that might've been expected of a young woman.

I don't necessarily recommend my way of dealing with education and work, it's not for everyone as you hear. But for myself who strive for living life to the fullest and learning by living - my personal non-strategy has worked the best. I have never had a dream of becoming a university educated person. My dream was rather, if anything, to become an intellectual, wise, objective person rich with life experience. My dream was never to get a fat paycheck from a big company. My dream was rather to afford paying myself a decent salary made from my own passions and my own hard work. If I wanted a degree, I would have gotten one. If I would have been absolutely sure of what I wanted to work with for the rest of my life, it would have probably been reasonable to get a university degree. But I've always felt that what I am and want today, might not be the same as next year. Therefore has school not appealed to me much. I am always changing, refining and I never want to stop learning.

Sure, the times in life when I've been a little lost (that always happens in between functioning business ventures), I might have toyed with the idea of taking a class in writing or philosophy, just to add to my personal knowledge bank. But I simply do not think I am the sort of person that need a university degree. I think I will always be able to sort myself out and do the things I love doing. Because I have both the drive, and the knowledge in how to achieve goals. I do not let things such as other people's opinions or the lack of education come in my way. I make sure to surround myself with people who have faith in me, and I read and study all what I am interested in, by myself. I would say that I currently spend approx. 20 hours a week studying about food and nutrition for example. Because I think that will help my current business. And all the physical practicing and experimenting that I occupy myself with on the daily, adds to my expertise as well.

Making a lot of money is not super important to me. But making enough to live a comfortable, happy life in which I can afford to travel and see my family and friends more often, is what I strive for. It will have to take the time it takes, because it will only be achieved by me working with the things I love. And for a period in my past when I thought a tonne of money was super important, I made sure to try that world out by dating very wealthy men. I realized after a few years though, that it wasn't what made me happy. Money doesn't buy you happiness. It only gives you opportunities. But if you aren't happy and content from within, no material or money in the world can help you. I am glad I have gained that knowledge by my own personal life experiments.

Doing the things you love, surrounded by people you love and respect, are the two most fundamental core values in my life and even though my 32 year short life so far has proven to be ever changing, ever evolving, I think that simple philosophy is here to stay.

Although I'm very content with the experiences through good and bad that I've earned in the past. And also very pleased with what I'm currently occupied with. There are still many things I would have wanted to try out. I see life like an inviting playground, so many intriguing things to choose from. These are some of the interesting, challenging things I may or may not try my hands on in the future:

Author - Music Producer - Restaurant Owner - Documentary Video Host - Hotel Proprietor

But most of all, the things that has always been the same and probably will remain until I die: Freedom is everything. And I really want to enjoy my life and keep improving and refining myself and the little world directly around me.

Here you can read about some of what I have been up to in the past.
 

5 comments

many roads to travel


Not joking, for at least two years have I planned writing a post about the difference I/we have experienced in the different countries in which we have lived or traveled to so far. Have now finally got my shit together and begun drafting on a comprehensive list of all positive and negative that we've experienced in each of those countries. But first a little background info..

You know already that one major gain with a world trip like the one we're on with our floating home, is that you get one step closer to the truth, you get to know the world a little bit better. A gained knowledge that hopefully gives a better idea on where it would be wise to set up a land-based home one day in the future. We're far from done with our research. Haven't yet found the ultimate place although we have some ideas. All the good and bad we encounter in each of these countries and cities that we visit or live in for an extended time, teaches us something unique of value. We add a new piece of information and knowledge to the puzzle we're trying to solve. And despite the occasional negative that we encounter, we always try to get out of each stop with more than what we arrived with. Not so much in material, but rather in experience and insights.

Speaking for myself, I have always been a curious searcher. Ever since I was very little (8) when I moved from my birth country Finland to a small farm village in Sweden, I have wanted to know what else was out there. As much as I have always felt that there must be so much more to life than that which was presented to me, I have always found it odd with people who strongly propagate for a country or a place without knowledge or experience in what else there is outside of ones direct viewpoint. How can you know when you know so little? I had no clue of what life really looked like outside my safe home base, but I was extremely eager to learn.

Of course there are people that are not interested in learning about the world, which is perfectly fine. Who am I to choose for others. The amazing thing with life is that we all can choose our own paths. I personally knew from a very young age that knowledge came from experience, and that ones experience is limited to the events and journeys one had traveled. To expand my mind, my perception and comprehension of life and the world was not an option, but a necessity that would enable me to grow.

Moving from home at 16, I started early to travel alone or with friends and have ever since made every effort towards getting to know myself, the world and the people that inhabits it better. I was so curious. Wanted to know everything! And educating myself in cultural differences, language and traveling the world happened also on other levels than just the one done in airplanes, trains and automobiles.

Everyone has their own ways to connect to new people. A personal strategy if you will, conscious or subconscious, towards who they want to spend time with. An inner guidance leading them to who and where to look for their next potential partner. Before meeting Alex, I made sure to expand my worldview by dating people from various different countries, religion, ethnicity and social standings. They were young, old, rich, poor, students, business owners, bohemians, artists, bankers, drug dealers, nightclub owners, junkies, teetotalers, policemen, sportsmen and lazy asses. A mixture of backgrounds that ensured mental challenge and which lead me to see the world through many different glasses. They were from West and East Europe. From Australia, America, Africa and Asia. Latino, Caribbean, Mediterranean and Arabic. You name it, I've probably explored it.

Some people travel through books or a higher education, the people I chose to spend my time with were (indirectly in most cases) my teachers, and no matter how our story ended, I can still look back at all of them and feel fortunate for the time we spent together. For all the things they taught me. Or the things I taught myself by being part of their lives and stories for a brief, or sometimes longer, moment.

There might have been moments when I've been absolutely sure that certain of those encounters were nothing but a waste of time. But the more distance I gain to each individual experience, the more I have realized that they were all there to help me build my own curious colourful path, and each of them have been necessary ingredients that have filled my book of life with important knowledge.

Before I met Alex at the age of 27, I was still in search of higher awareness. There were too many lives, cultures and places to explore. Almost all of the encounters lead to me sliding out and moving on towards new adventures. But always with my baggage restocked with new important lessons and insights. 

As much as I had difficulty choosing the right place to live, I had hard committing to someone for a longer time simply because my research wasn't done yet. Eventually that research came to a halt when I met someone whose puzzle pieces seemed to be fitting mine.

Alex, who had so much of all in one body: A Frenchman with Greek roots, who had lived in many different countries and spoke three and a half languages. Who worked with things I love, had gone through a ton of shit, but still had his heart in the right place. A person that loved traveling as much as I did, and who, as a bonus, had a boat we could prepare for an extended world cruise. For the dreamer and searcher that I was and still am, it was like a gift that had been given to me from above. It all fell naturally. We moved together in the first month of dating. With all my innate ideas and wishes to continue learning about the world, I was initially the slightly stronger driving force when we mutually decided to leave our lives in Spain behind and together go hunt for something greater. Alex had for a longer time wanted a change in certain aspects of his life. He had lived in Spain for seven years at the time that we met, and the country's economical situation that affected his industry had started to feel old. As much as he felt like a given in my life, it seems I came into his world at the right time.

The search, intentional or unintentional, for a partner to share ones life with, can be equaled to the search Alex and I are on today with our world travels. For each place that we visit, we add one additional piece of information to our now combined travel baggage. We know so much more now than when we started our journey together, but there's still so much more to see, experience and investigate before we can begin building a home on land. While we learn from every unique experience on this joint quest we have undertaken, we also teach each other from the individual baggage we both carried with us when we first met.

Living on a boat makes traveling a bit easier. And now that we've done it for so long (almost five years), it is hard imagining a different way to approach the world. Everything is just a water passage away. Whatever we want to explore, it is there for us to take part of. With some planning, saving and preparation of course. 

There are a few things that we always adhere to each time we discuss different places for living. Some of these have been obvious from day one, other we have learned to incorporate into our lives as time went by:
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+ On the water - We want to live in a place with a safe, nice place to keep the boat. We need to know that there is a possibility to sail away swiftly would there need be. Living near water inspire a sense of freedom and that is very important to us. If also the water is crystal clear and turquoise blue, that is an obvious bonus.

+ Warm weather and sunshine - We live on a boat, which means it is hard to heat up our home. It is for us easier to fight heat than cold. On a boat or not, cold weather changes so many things to the worse. From how your body and mind feels, to what energy you thrive and live off, and even how you look. Being cold takes away too much pleasure from life. Sunshine feeds you endorphin and energy. Sunshine is life and it paints the world in beautiful colours which are needed for a stimulated and happy mind. Having said that, there's a limit to heat as well, and the Mediterranean climate is therefore the ultimate year round.

+ Good, healthy food and water - The beginning of all. Without food we are nothing. Real food in my world, being only such that is natural, non manipulated and comes from the earth.

+ Opportunity to work with what we love - Music mastering for Alex professionally, wood work/design as a hobby. For me: Cooking and baking healthy food for others. Photography and writing for my mind. This implies both that there is the physical opportunity for us to do what we love, that there are enough customers that are willing to buy our services, and a challenging and inspiring environment is equally important. For Alex work it is a tad easier as he sends his work digitally so a mastering studio could be located pretty much anywhere. But on the other hand, there are only so many world class mastering studios with the right equipment in the world. Till the day we have found the place to put down our roots that is, and can build his own studio again (this require quite an investment obviously).

+ Humble, genuine, goodhearted people - It's not like there are dedicated places filled with only humble, genuine and goodhearted people, it obviously takes time to find such stars in any given place. But there are some cultural traits that can make a population generally less or more humble, for example. We live a very simple life, we don't buy too much things, we are fine with mostly the fundamental things in life such as love, peace, nature, friendship, good food, tranquility and fulfilling things to work with. We strive for doing good, meaningful things. We live and create our life with love and passion. And we believe in helping others with the means one has. We love the sort of small village mentality where people are helpful and offer a helping hand to their neighbor, but on the other hand, small villages can become too limited for ones mind so this is a hard one. Nonetheless, being surrounded by like minded people is obviously the ultimate. From all what we've been through in life and left behind us, we are in no need of drama and try avoiding all what would mean it.

+ Nature - Rather undeveloped than overly exploited. Just being surrounded by it and feeling we are connected to the nature, is of utter importance to us. That's where we recharge and find peace. Our ultimate place to live is where also the surrounding society respect and value the same nature.

+ Good and affordable health care - We come from countries where we expect free healthcare for everyone. No insurances needed. Free healthcare is part of the deal we have with our governments, something they provide us in return for the taxes we pay. Looking at how other parts of the world take care, or fail to take care of its people when they are sick, we know we've been very fortunate.

+ A trustworthy social environment and a respectful government - This is the hardest. Is there any country non corrupt? But there are the ones that give more security and comfort than others for sure (see above example). For people like us who work for ourselves and currently are only two people in this boat, we do not necessarily need much help and support from the government. But when working, we'd like to feel good about how our tax money is spent, and that varies dramatically from one country to another.

+ Culture, craft and ambiance - We love the old world. Techniques and practices that have been handed down generation after generation. People whose great great great grandparents did things the way they still do them today. Because that's how the most amazing artwork, food, houses and buildings, boats, gardens, music and wine is produced. It is inevitable to have some modernity in life (can't live without my Mac and my DSLR camera), but most often the cheap, new, quick solutions when it comes to the beautiful and necessary things in life, lack a feel and sensation that is only obtained by things made the real, proper old-school way.

+ Closeness to the people we love and care about the most - One of the most frustrating things with constantly being on the go, is that we miss hugging, kissing and being near our most valued human beings. Family and friends. Although we don't need to live in the same city or even the same country, it would be helpful if one didn't have to spend a minimum of $2000 USD each time you'd like to meet. Most of our favorite people are located in Europe. But the good thing with people you love and trust, is that they'll always be there no matter the time and distance apart.

+ Peace and comfort - This mean all and everything. But particularly that no one is pushing you. No people, media or government trying to influence your mind to something they'd gain from themselves. No religious or fanatic people/groups oppressing your human rights. We know what we believe in and we do not need neither someone else's approval, nor guidance unless we ask for it. Equal rights and opportunities for men and women. All the things one take for granted when born and raised in an equal, non-religious society based on laws of common sense. As much as we leave other people to be who they are and believe in what they wish to believe in, we'd want the same treatment from the community and society that we live in. There are countries in which you can easier dodge pointing fingers than in other, and we would definitely like to see more of them.
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These 11 points being the basic ingredients in a very good life according to us. In the following posts I am going to tell you how the countries and places we've lived in thus far makes it with this list in mind. We are aware that it is super hard finding one place that has it all. Different locations serve different purposes in different periods of life. And one should also remember that the search, or the passage, is a whole grand journey all in itself.

Would be interested in hearing what are your most valued ingredients in life. Feel free to comment below:

7 comments

What success means to me and the 7 most important things in life

Does it sometimes feel like you'd like to cut yourself in several parts to be able to keep up with life and its obligations? "I wish the day had more hours" is a typical saying you often hear said out loud, often with a leaning towards pride in the voice. Manifesting a belief that being stressed and busy is a sign of being successful. 

Being ambitious and productive most certainly moves life forward. You make more money, you meet more people, you travel to more places, you might learn more, you see more, you experience more, you get to consume more, you …. and suddenly a sense of non-fulfillment, dissatisfaction and failure catches up on you. 

You get difficulty sleeping, you might get anxious and worried that you're missing out, you blame yourself for not being adequate enough, for not being the best friend/partner/parent that you would want to be, you stress out for not having all the clothes, things and material you'd like to possess. And the sense of constantly lacking something eats you up from inside, leaving you feeling that the only way to get rid of that sense of emptiness, is to keep filling the empty hole with more things, more experiences, more achievements. More of everything.

People have different ways of expressing dissatisfaction in life. It could be by comparing themselves with others, throwing a jealous glance at what someone else have that you don't. Some get greedy and step on people to move forward. Down-talking or gossiping about others. Some people get depressed and take to binge eating, or the opposite; you starve yourself cause you feel you're never really skinny enough. Others simply run through life so fast they start neglecting the things that are, or should be, the most important aspects in a humans life:

Eat healthy - Sleep well - Value, show appreciation and give time to people close to your heart - Show respect and kindness to others - Connect to nature - Be true to yourself and your beliefs - Breathe easy. 

Breathe easy.

 Let the fear of being insufficient shake off your shoulders. 
Be thankful for what you have. Scale down material needs. Let go of social expectations.
You've got nothing to prove.

The roadrunner lifestyle that many people voluntarily sign up for pushes a human soul from its core needs and replaces natural human growth with superficial wealth. That sort of rushed lifestyle is destructive to the real experiences, love and natural fulfillment you could be gaining, would you only allow yourself to stop looking for happiness on the outside, and realize true harmony can only be achieved by being content with what you have, and where you are right now. 

Scaling down, with no need and urge to constantly do and gain and achieve something. Removing false layers of unhealthy behaviours and a quest for material richness, and opening your heart to what really is important - is the best gift you can give yourself and the people you have close.

Success, in my world, is not measured by how much you've achieved, what things you own and how much money you've made, and therefore does wealthy people or financially successful businessmen and women seldom inspire me more than anyone else. Because money and material in itself has no soul connection and any given image or lifestyle can easily be bought and adopted by anyone with the right set of opportunities.

Success, according to me, is merely measured by how well you've managed to incorporate your core desires into your everyday life, and how much you truthfully enjoy living the life you've created for yourself without a need of flaunting or exaggerating or being malicious or greedy to make yourself look greater/happier/more successful/more intelligent/better off than the next person. 

Success to me is also being truthful to your real values, values gained by self sourcing information without jumping onto the beliefs of the loudest outside influencer, and by always being reflective to both sides of a coin. It is being fair and consistent in what you believe regardless of the political, financial or social outcome of your beliefs and your expression of them. It is having integrity as well as having an understanding for others.

Success comes when you are at peace with what you have and where you are regardless of the battles and suffering we all have to go through every once in a while. And when you have learnt that being helpful and kind to others offer a greater sense of fulfillment than always putting yourself and your own needs first.

I, like every other human being, fail to always live up to my own ideals, but having developed a good sense of when I feel most at peace and when the universe and I seem to sync and collaborate the best, it is nowadays much easier to hold onto my core beliefs than what it might have been in the past when I still filled my life with all kinds of distractions and unhealthy behaviours. 

Time and life makes your human soul and mind grow and develop to the better, but only if you allow it to. Keep your heart open, and guide yourself to the good you know is true and right from within.

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through ups and downs and into something greater

I wonder if in ten years from now we'll still be working on perfecting details on the boat. Building, repairing and thinking out new ways to make a compromised life a little more comfortable, more efficient. More homey. With less, smarter and quicker arguments. A smoother work flow. Would work pretty fine for me, for Alex too I believe. As long as progress is evident. As long as it's all improving. Little by little.

It's curious the way things in life turn out. 

It sometimes hits me; how did we end up on this road? And however tedious and challenging it might be at times; how could I ever want anything different? 

I can only imagine but it seems that living a life like we do (4,5 years on the boat now). In which we've made an active choice to live on water. In ten times less living area than most people we know. Despite the lack of space and all the comforts most people require in life. With sleepless nights riding through storms at sea. I can imagine it to be a bit like giving birth and raising children. Or like running and maintaining a larger farm. 

You know your choice of lifestyle will mean massive amount of work, both physical and mental. It will drain you and put your patience to test. There will be frustrating moments when you ask yourself whatever the hell am I doing this for. There will be mornings you rather stay in bed all day and pretend you had chosen an easier path. Nights when you want to hammer yourself near unconscious just to forget, for a little while, the hardships you've voluntarily have thrown upon your shoulders.

It will come times when you look back in the rearview mirror. And for a brief moment you will be absolutely certain that life was better, easier, more meaningful when you were twenty something with no worries at all.

You will remember people, places, friendships, relationships and it will momentarily appear as if "that was the time of my life!". You will fool yourself to believe that even the most fleeting moments of past had offered more substance and meaning than the tiresome reality of today.

But then comes next day. With moments of enlightenment and higher spirits.

When things feels just so right.

And deep inside you'll know that you wouldn't change it for anything. You'll realize, again. And again. That it's all for something greater. As the rewards of all your combined efforts and all the pain you've gone through and will continue to face gives meaning and true fulfillment to your existence.

It taught you what one important source of true happiness is. What love, sacrifice and devotion means.

Isn't that the meaning of life, after all? To find that one thing that makes you burn and then slowly let it kill you.

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blissful melancholy

Sometimes you stumble upon the sort of music made by an artist or producer that makes you want to tear apart and throw away all preceding playlists you've ever created as every tone, beat, instrument and voice of this newly discovered love is so utterly perfect that it can be compared with nothing else you've previously heard. It doesn't happen too often, and it's partly a question about current mood and frame of mind obviously, but when it occurs it makes you catch your breath, your eyes fill with tears and you feel endlessly thankful that you met that specific person who introduced it to you/that website that lead you to it/that youtube video which recommended it, or however you fell upon your newfound musical obsession.

I've heard Milosh before in the form of his and Robin Hannibal's two man band Rhye which I absolutely adore from the bottom of my heart, too. But I had totally missed that the trailing voice of the duo had produced hauntingly beautiful music by himself since 2004.

It's the sort of music I'm always dreaming of finding on my countless hours scouring through the net but seldom do. Melancholic, soothing, sensual, sad and bottomless yet round, introspective music with depth and a variety of emotional layers in an intimate, soulful rhythm. Thinking about it, ever since I was very young I've been drawn to music that filled my eyes with tears. That brought me to sadness, got me thinking, moved me from reality and back right to it. I used those tones as an outlet and substitute for emotions that I couldn't put words on, nor express in ways my body and soul required, emotions which were hidden or suppressed, in a person not yet mature and ready to deal with the actual pain of loss and sorrow that life had brought onto her.

Milosh music moves me to the place within my soul that I still as an adult share only with myself. Even though words are easier constructed these days and feelings and emotions are in better control over - there's still a part of my heart which it seems that only music like this understands.

>These are my favorites by Milosh/Rhye, and this, this, this and this are some other tunes found on Youtube.

(If you for some odd reason still don't have Spotify, these are my favorite tracks: Another day, Gentle Samui, Verse, The world, Below, Open, Last dance, Remember the good things, One of those summer days.)

Milosh newest video above from his next album coming out next month, starring his wife Alexa Nikolas. In a press release on his upcoming album Jetlag, Milosh said: "Jetlag is an expression of my deep love for my wife, my happiness and excitement for a new place in my life, my sadness or fear of stepping out of my old life... Jetlag is about dancing between two worlds simultaneously, learning about myself through the process and ultimately making a choice to be with someone, to fully commit to that life even though it's on the other side of the world."

Can't recall last time that I looked forward to a release so much as I do with his new album.

Check out his website here and Facebook page here.

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Life's great questions

Went for dinner with this fine lady last night at Gaslight in the trendy South End in downtown Boston. You might remember her from Cartagena? Coincidentally we happened to sail to the same state in which she lives with her family. We're not based on the same side of Boston, but nonetheless Massachusetts. 

Gaslight is a French inspired brasserie with a low-lit, comfortable ambiance and pretty good food and wine too. Jade is as you might remember the designer of We Dream In Colour that I have had the pleasure to dress myself in on a regular basis. Her design style speaks to me and the pieces has such good balance between earthy vintage-like and sophisticated glam. It's always inspiring with people who stay focused and inline with their choice of career for a lengthy time, says someone who tried my way through different sorts of own small businesses as well as an array of various industries, and I still haven't quite found that one thing to concentrate on for the rest of my life, except writing and photographing that is (can I just do that forever, please?). 

Jade on the other hand, has been designing for her own brand for more than ten years after finalizing four years at the prestigious art school Pratt Institute in New York, and her WDIC keeps growing by the day. The fantastic number of 700 stores carries her jewelry worldwide as we speak. As we discussed last night, that sort of direction and stableness is what one misses out on when choosing to be a full time traveler. A vagabond-kind of lifestyle doesn't offer the sort of stability that is required to ambitiously focus on one great pursue. Except traveling, exploring, boat hustlin', photographing, blogging and sharing the adventures with the world, all of which are rewarding in their own regards too, obviously. But if it's something both Alex and I miss sometimes, it is to settle down again, to have both our belongings as well as work flow in order. 

Especially Alex is missing his work and achievements in the music industry as a mastering engineer, a career in an industry which he has been devoted to for close to twenty years. I, on the other hand, semi-professional blogger and freelancing photographer that I've done my best to be during the last three years while out on this great sailing adventure, have more job-related questions to find answers to. Can't escape the fact that money must be made in this world in order to live a comfortable, free and pleasurable life.

As was the original plan with our journey, we must first figure out which place on earth that is the right one for us to settle, and that might still take some time to conclude. And isn't that also an ever changing subject in life? Maybe the United States is a good place to live for a longer time after all. One thing that sure is good here are the enormous opportunities that are nowhere else to be found, in any given industry.

Even though we do miss our beloved Mediterranean enormously (the original plan was like most of you might remember, to be back there much earlier), we do realize that the Southern parts of Europe aren't in very good economical shape. Not saying the US has it any much easier financially, but the opportunities and chances to higher income are obviously much greater here in the US still.

Oh well, when most things are in order, there are still always so many more questions to find answers to. Life is an endless road of decision making and organizing, wouldn't you agree?

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Music baby

It was a while ago I shared some music with you all. I normally find around 7-10 hours every week for tracking down good tunes and sorting out my playlist (I know, #nerd), but since we arrived to the US, time has mainly been filled with organizing, stabilizing things and getting back into the tracks of a "normal" life on land. 

It drives me insane that there's so much good music out there and I have not enough time to locate it all. In another life, I would probably pursue a career within music, as a dj and producer (minimal deep techno or ambient triphop kind), but in this one there doesn't seem to be enough time for it all unfortunately. That makes me sad sometimes, that I can not live in all the conformations that I would wish to. The bitter sweet sadness of life. The things we miss out on when one path is chosen. This quote by Sylvia Plath may be relevant:

“I can never read all the books I want; 
I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. 
I can never train myself in all the skills I want. 
And why do I want? 
I want to live and feel all the shades, 
tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. 
And I am horribly limited.” 

I often wonder how people with children prioritize (kids are often on my mind, firstly because I am a woman and I also have most of my sisters and many female friends who've chosen to become mothers). Imagine that I spend 7-10 hours a week on music, 20 hours a week reading and writing, 5 hours for cooking, 10 hours eating and enjoying said food, 5 hours for exercise and meditation, and the rest of the time for work, sleep, travel and hanging out with loved ones. All those things are of utter importance to me. I couldn't see my life without any of it and I need them as constant ingredients in my every day life to feel fulfilled, relaxed and in peace with myself. Counting those hours on average...

24 hours per day =

8 hrs sleep
2-3 hrs for cooking & eating
1 hr yoga & exercise
30 min meditation
2-3 hrs reading & writing
1 hr for music
6-10 hrs of work depending on which project I have ongoing in that particular period of life
2-3 hrs of downtime for travel, family & friends.

... there really isn't time for anything else. 

I guess I could always choose to remove or cut down on one or two of those elements, but again, they are such important parts of myself and I see none as replaceable. When people ask me if and when I would like to have children, I say as politely as I can, trying to not offend anyone else's personal choice: That in my already filled up schedule of life - which isn't busy and hectic per se (which also is a choice I've made as quietness and harmony is of main importance), but filled with the things that I love and need - there really is no way that I could see myself replacing any of those elements. For sleepless nights? Added costs? Faster aging and potential physical transformation? An overall tiresome existence where I have to leave my own interests at second priority? Constant demand of attention by someone else?

As much as I would love to understand women who choose to give birth, I can't completely spin my head around the phenomenon. And then the added worries and headaches one inevitably have to experience when caring and loving someone of ones own flesh and blood that much. There is nothing that could make me put myself in such a draining position voluntarily.

Many women think we child free are missing out. And obviously we do, family is a beautiful thing as are children in many aspects. But when there is a choice of self development, total peace and harmony vs. constantly nurturing and developing something for someone else, the answer is obvious. People may argue that a woman can have it all. That a modern woman can both work, have a successful career, take time off for yoga, reading and meditation and raise a toddler at the same time - but the freedom one has when not having to be on constant call is invaluable to me and for many others who choose to not have them.

To be able to take off when one wish, to lay in bed six hours after breakfast and read in total quietness if one would feel like. Enjoy late dinner and drinks without having to worry about what time to come home. To be able to hoist the sails and leave for another continent whenever that urge hits you. Work for hours and days without having to feel guilty about how much time one has spent in front of the computer. I totally understand the good sides of having children, but knowing the sacrifices every single woman that I have met with children have to make, it doesn't seem worthwhile to my eyes. Thank god we are different though, imagine if everyone thought as I did, the world would obviously collapse.

Back to one of my real life babies... music. >>This<< is one of my slow comfortable playlists I've enjoyed listening to last few weeks. Works good when wanting to get into a reflective and introspective mode. x

Here's the list for the ones of you who don't have Spotify:

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When time is right


We took the launch service out to our boat yesterday. Our promenade to the harbor was blessed with sunshine, warm winds and birds chatter all around the green tunnel of forest pathway, but by the time we arrived to the boat, dark menacing clouds covered our view of the sun and the rain quickly followed. There are worse places to find oneself when it's raining. There is something romantic about the way you pull the companionway hatch to close above your head and you immediately begin inspecting the latest repair of faulty portholes to see if they still leak or not. Bingo! No leaks (there) any longer, an opportunity to kick back and relax resurfaced. 

A wave of nostalgia and a mild form of sadness flooded over me as I laid down in the familiar patchy red colored couch and I couldn't help but feeling we've abandoned Duende. Our boat that had brought us here and who had protected and carried us through hard times, and enhanced the good days with memories worthy a hundred novels. It isn't a case of an abandonment naturally, as we will set sail Southwards again as soon as boat and we are ready to go. But the situation does carry an odd feeling, the fact that the boat isn't any longer our everyday home as it's been since spring 2010, it's weird. Time flies. Things change. We change and priorities change, but nowhere and at no time does the need and hunger to feel free dissipate.

As much as other aspects of life must be prioritized for a period of time, we know within our hearts that we will return to the sea when time is right. "Wasn't it pretty good in the tropics after all", he asked me, with a gentle deliberate look in his eyes that almost brought tears to mine as I knew how hard most of our time in the Caribbean had been, on especially him, during the never-ending refit and boat projects that we had initiated and never came to an end with. "We didn't fully take the opportunity to enjoy the way it was supposed to be enjoyed" he continued, me nodding as an answer. Knowing too well he was right and if we were to do it all over again, we would have done it so much differently. 

No reason to regret, as we've learnt many lessons. But one thing we agreed on there while torrential downpour hammered down our hatches was that we no matter what, would only ever leave with our boat in the right cruising mode again. Fit and ready to go, with refits and refurbishments behind us. We'd only fill the boat with tools needed for unexpected repairs and not for constructing and building a whole new vessel. We've lived it the hard way and surprisingly survived that with all that it means. It is exhilarating now knowing that we can start it all over again, and that next time we'd have the chance to do it the right way. 

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How does it feel

So we left Colon and Panama with its busy shipping lane behind on Tuesday after lunch. Initial plan was to leave early morning to try to avoid the afternoon and night thunderstorms that are so frequent around this particular coast this time of the year, but you know how it is. Things always pile up and I think we've never left shore at the time we originally had scheduled. So at 3 pm, the nasty growl from the charging clouds could be heard and in lack of enough wind and some choppy waves from three different directions, we had to start the passage with the annoyance of engine power. 
 Luckily escaped that one.
But that relief lasted only until we looked ahead. One after another we dodged the heaviest clouds and the lightning they brought. It was like battling a mine field as they struck from every direction.
We really do hate having to use the engine, the sound of it rhymes so bad with what sailing is all about, and at 9pm we have had enough of it and took to our last resort. Shutting it off and heaving to. Tired from having to worry about the thunder, as soon as we had got off the coast and left the mess of it behind, we hove to to get some rest. We've done it once on our previous boat and she handled it very well, but this was the first time ever with Duende and we were wondering how her fin keel, huge rudder and ultra wide tumblehome would cope with it, but it went reasonably well and we could get some sleep. Like I mentioned earlier, Alex was already feeling sick at this point. So while he went down below, I had my sleep in the cockpit, with an alarm waking me up every 45 minutes to check around for potential ships passing us by or any change of wind. It went pretty smooth and at five am I was anxious to get moving into right direction again. No wind still though... if we wanted to get somewhere, we needed to get that engine on once more.
Red indicated our current position, blue line is our planned route and the purple dot is where we ended up later on.

Having had studied the wind forecast before our departure, this is more or less how it was supposed to look for the following 2-3 days. Since heaving to this time didn't bring us much forward but rather very slowly away from the wind, we hadn't made such a good progress this first night (clocked an amazing 80 miles in the first 24 hours..) and we knew we had a lot of engine to do before we got into the bluer area with at least ten knots of wind. This didn't happen before 9 pm in the night and after approximately 24 hours of motoring in total. Oh how we hate those days.. I have so hard to understand those cruisers who actually prefers to run their engine all day long, I mean the ones who're motoring even when there is sufficient wind to be sailing, and these people are no minority around here I can tell you. Every emotion as well as connection to nature is destroyed by the jerky movement, terrible sound and the odor of diesel. But sometimes you have to do what you have to do unless you want to be stuck bobbing around forever which was even less of interest at this point. So finally by 9 pm, the wind kicked in at a comfortable 14-16 knots and I could turn the key to silence. That feeling, hard to explain, again you can hear the water flowing freely on the hull, making a gentle spray like sound as you move forward. We did make a good progress this night and around midnight I felt the Sailomat wind pilot could take care of the rest as I set it up in right direction and laid down to sleep.

Of course, that peace and harmony didn't last forever. At around 00.45 I woke up by the call of my inner alarm, right about one minute before the actual clock alarm started to shriek, and discovered the wind had increased to 22-23 knots. I put one reef in the genoa, but only to realize the wind increased even further. So another few turns on the furling system. Luckily we had already reefed the main before Alex went to sleep around 9 pm so I didn't have to deal with it all by myself in the night, but even with all this decrease in sail area, two reefs in both sails, we were pounding into the building waves at a speed of 7,5-8 knots. Man I tell you, this boat is a torpedo, so fast we could almost move forward with no sails at all. This is where we were at this point, more or less at the height of Santa Marta, Colombia:
We kept on beating into the wind but around three in the morning after it had additionally increased to 25-28 knots with the occasional thunderstorm gust at 30-32, I decided we needed to divert from our wishful route and aim more to the West unless we wanted to rip that main apart once again. I woke Alex up and informed him of our current situation and we agreed on leaving the wind at 120 degrees apparent rather than pounding forward into 60° and the 2-3-4 meter waves that had built up. It is amazing the difference of worlds, one wind angle to another. Ten minutes earlier, every part of the boat was tensed and it felt like something could explode any second, now we rather followed the waves more gently and most of the pressure was released. Alex was feeling even more sick than previously so I continued my watches. 45 minutes sleep, check, 45 minuets sleep, check, 45 minutes sleep... Our normal procedure, even when Alex isn't sick, is that I am mostly awake in the night, taking 60-70% of night watches, as Alex is normally very strong during daytime and I, for some reason, do not need a lot of sleep in the nights. Alex is working so much and so hard on the days, that I often give him the opportunity to catch up in the nights as I anyway do not need the sleep as much. I normally get most of my rest in the early mornings and slipping into comfortable sleep after lunch is also a favorite. 

Lately though, Alex has felt sick almost on every night passage we've done and since he's never been like that previously, I think it has to do with him pressuring his body to the extreme by working so hard on the boat in tropical heat, and every time to the very final minute of departure. Hoping he'll be back to normal soon but we shall probably try the Sturgeron when we can get a hold on some, thanks Horizonstar for the tip.

Where were we? Yeah so by this time, around 4 am, when I adjusted the wind pilot to move us more away from the wind, I discovered we had approximately 180 miles to go to nearest land, to the islands of San Andrés and Providencia on the coast of Nicaragua. If we'd keep the speed which was now (due to our dropping the main completely) around 6,5 knots, we could be there in the next 26 hours, making an early morning arrival possible. 24 hours went by, the Sailomat wind pilot worked flawlessly as always (seriously I can't stress enough the great value of this one), and we both did get some reasonably comfortable sleep too. 
sailing alone night watches soul searching self development
At 5 am on the last morning, 15 more miles to go to and wind had dropped to around 14-16 knots.
sailing alone night watches soul searching self development
Were of course not done with bad weather yet, but had the occasional shower and wind increase on the way.
Alex is up, adjusting sails. They say seasickness often lasts for 2-3 days before the body gets used to it and just by the time we were closing in on the islands, he was back to his normal self.
sailing alone night watches soul searching self development
I often get questions about how does it feel, to be out there on the sea with no sight of anything but water and horizon for days at length. And even though it is impossible to describe in details, as any such empowering feeling always is, I can say it has changed my life. I don't mean to sound dramatic or over exaggerate. But the way the sea brings you back to the ground by being so powerful and unforgiving in its vast massiveness and unpredictable weather, and in the way it cleanses your mind and makes sure you can't escape from yourself - it has taught me invaluable lessons that I would have never had to face elsewhere. 

The sea is much like life itself, it has its mesmerizing ups and devastating downs, and when you think you have control over it, you'll get a harsh backhand slap in the face by piercing hard saltwater. Always reminding you not to fight against the strong natural powers, but rather move with the ebbs and flows as the sea, just as life itself, changes around you. You can always make preparations, plans and even try to avoid bad weather and situations with careful precautions. But you never ever know how life nor a sailing passage will turn out, in the end. I find this to be the bittersweet beauty of life, the way that we are so fragile and unprotected if you look at the bigger picture. Knowledge of this has humbled me and each time I get out sailing, I gain a stronger connectedness with nature and the higher power of the universe that always has the final word in our tiny little lives. It makes you take life and yourself less seriously.

I know that many people might find it hard, stressful and even anxiety-provoking with the monotonous views that it can be with all this nothing but water and sky around you for many days at a time, especially as you spend so much time all by yourself. I too have my ups and downs in emotions during a long passage. One second I am feeling indescribable thankfulness for all the immense love and beauty that I have been given in my life, the next hour I get thrown back on memory lane and to a place and time in which I wasn't the best of me - bringing feelings of guilt or pain caused by the reminder of my human weaknesses. But even so, even when the sea has forced me to look into the bottoms of myself and urged me to make peace with past and the person that I am or have been - I am always embracing these new discoveries as I know they are there to guide me and teach me something in order for me to become a more complete, better settled and more refined human being that I do wish to become. 

There are many ways to soul search, but I have found the sea and sailing the most powerful of all what I've tried thus far. So no, I wouldn't say it is all just beautiful and relaxing, and it is definitely not always easy, but if you are intrigued by learning more about the powers of the human mind and are willing to take the next step towards better awareness and consciousness of yourself, at least I have found no better therapist than the mighty old sea. 

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