It's kind of cool yet kind of sad that you're reminiscing early. But I get it. Sometimes life is so real--so good--you almost pinch yourself, wondering.
I can totally see that! Welcome to my mind. Reminiscing early is a great way to put it. But most of the time, like I say in the piece, it's a sort of gratitude. A recognition of the impermanence of everything, even the now. But believe me, I'm enjoying the hell out of it while it lasts. Writing this article made me enjoy it even more :)
Ah the misty eyed recollections full of the good bits and maybe a few of the not so great but, you didn't walk way from all that because it was perfect you left because you have a burning curiosity to discover what's over the next hill, round that corner, across that ocean. Go back?
I think you'll be restless for the ocean, the sounds and smells of the sea. In the cities the sunrises over the buildings, at sea it rises over the horizon.
Wow, such a cool comment, Murray. I also have trouble imagining us go back in a literal sense. We've always gone *forward* based on all the knowledge & experience we've gathered from the previous thing. And there's always a new hill!
You may already know this, but we're planning to sail to Guatemala in April, & I'm super excited to see what that's like being in more bustling & vibrant culture. We're going to take a bit of a break from sailing to explore land during the 2026 hurricane season. We'll likely be living on the sailboat & still among other sailors. And I'm sooo curious to see how we process everything we've done up until this point & whether the longing to continue emerges!
I'm struck by how you describe the ordinariness of your extraordinary life. The propane, the coffee, the squinting. It makes me wonder if we've got the whole thing backwards. We chase these big transformative experiences thinking they'll feel different on the inside, but then we get there and it's still just... Tuesday. Still just making coffee. Still wondering if this is it. I took a sabbatical from a corporate job once to travel for six months, and I remember being in Thailand, sitting in this beautiful guesthouse, and thinking about my grocery list. My actual grocery list. Like my brain was so committed to the mundane that it invented errands in a country where I didn't even have a kitchen. Maybe the point isn't that extraordinary circumstances make us feel extraordinary. Maybe it's that we bring our ordinary selves everywhere we go, and that's actually the whole beautiful mess of it.
“Humbled only by how long it takes to realize we were having a great day.” That’s the whole thing.
I love that you’re not romanticizing it while you’re in it — the ripped sails, wet groceries, sewage and all. That honesty is what makes the reflection land.
Every chapter feels ordinary until it’s memory. And the fact that you can see that now, while you’re still inside it, feels like the real gift.
Thanks Kelly! Yes, I’m trying to stay verrrry aware of the amazing life I have now, & not take it for granted. Even my “lowest lows” are some of my favorite moments! I know that’s the reality of things, isn’t it?!
I'm glad you are treasuring each day at sea. I did so much of that when our family spent 6 years sailing around the world. I can take myself back there still, watching the wake we made, those perfect turquoise peaks rising and falling beside me, the sound of the sails and the seas during night watches, the gentle roll of the boat rocking me to sleep as we lay at anchor---you know what I mean. You will remember this and it will bring you back there years and years from now. Time folds in such a lovely way.
I love this Deborah! Thanks for sharing. I totally know what you’re talking about. There are certain memories, like the light on the water, that are seared in my mind. I never knew the world can be so beautiful. We all need that reminder, & you got that accessible at any time. So cool!
Everything you said is so true, Cory. As humans, we are constantly changing, striving, doing instead of just being in the moment. I think there has to be a balance of looking forward but also enjoying the now. Sounds easy but it is a constant juggling act. However, I think that you are really great at enjoying the now and appreciating how far that you have come while also being very aware that all of this is temporary. We never really "arrive"....we just have to enjoy the journey. And from what I can see, you are extremely gifted at doing just that!
I’m so happy you got all that, Lisa! That balance is soooo key for me too. I know the common wisdom is “carpe diem,” right, & there’s soooo much truth to that, too. Knowing myself, though, there’s always an awareness of how the moment will someday become memory, & that perspective shift is going to bring a whole new meaning to the events of today. It really helps to improve my gratitude honestly!
Thanks, Cory, this really took me back to my 8 months sailing to and around the Bahamas from DC in 2002. I'll go back and look at your earlier posts but I'm curious about the cruising community you encounter. It was strong even back then but nowadays I bet it's a lot easier to stay in touch, ask for help, give directions, and celebrate together. Some good people out there.
Wow, very cool you had that experience, Charlotte! Right now it’s absolutely easier to stay in touch with folks. I also did some nomadic traveling by land back in 2006, & lots of those people I met (pre-smartphone, pre-Facebook) were lost to time. But I think now it might be a little easy to isolate. You can reach out to people on sailing-networking apps, like NoForeignLand, if you need help with something; and people will be there. But it’s much rarer for a stranger to just knock on your boat & say “Howdy captain!” Similar to land life in a way. A stranger knocking on our doors is weird! But I agree — some of the best people out here in the entire world!!
ABSOLUTELY Matt! That’s the realization I’m having out here, too. I was looking at a sunset a few days ago & thinking, “Omg, this is temporary.” I know from a certain vantage point this may sound like I’m already writing the obituary on my sailing chapter. But that’s not it. It’s just a recognition of how memories are formed.
I’m imagining Natalie Merchant singing “These Are Days” in the background as you wrote this! So great that you are reflecting on all of these special, but ordinary moments.
Yes, tons of constraints here, too — just like any life. It’s all about choosing the constraints we want, I think! I can do yoga & pushups on deck, walk onshore, & go hiking when the opportunity arises. But no matter what: it’ll all be fond if we’re living the life want now.
It's kind of cool yet kind of sad that you're reminiscing early. But I get it. Sometimes life is so real--so good--you almost pinch yourself, wondering.
I can totally see that! Welcome to my mind. Reminiscing early is a great way to put it. But most of the time, like I say in the piece, it's a sort of gratitude. A recognition of the impermanence of everything, even the now. But believe me, I'm enjoying the hell out of it while it lasts. Writing this article made me enjoy it even more :)
Ah the misty eyed recollections full of the good bits and maybe a few of the not so great but, you didn't walk way from all that because it was perfect you left because you have a burning curiosity to discover what's over the next hill, round that corner, across that ocean. Go back?
I think you'll be restless for the ocean, the sounds and smells of the sea. In the cities the sunrises over the buildings, at sea it rises over the horizon.
Wow, such a cool comment, Murray. I also have trouble imagining us go back in a literal sense. We've always gone *forward* based on all the knowledge & experience we've gathered from the previous thing. And there's always a new hill!
You may already know this, but we're planning to sail to Guatemala in April, & I'm super excited to see what that's like being in more bustling & vibrant culture. We're going to take a bit of a break from sailing to explore land during the 2026 hurricane season. We'll likely be living on the sailboat & still among other sailors. And I'm sooo curious to see how we process everything we've done up until this point & whether the longing to continue emerges!
I'm struck by how you describe the ordinariness of your extraordinary life. The propane, the coffee, the squinting. It makes me wonder if we've got the whole thing backwards. We chase these big transformative experiences thinking they'll feel different on the inside, but then we get there and it's still just... Tuesday. Still just making coffee. Still wondering if this is it. I took a sabbatical from a corporate job once to travel for six months, and I remember being in Thailand, sitting in this beautiful guesthouse, and thinking about my grocery list. My actual grocery list. Like my brain was so committed to the mundane that it invented errands in a country where I didn't even have a kitchen. Maybe the point isn't that extraordinary circumstances make us feel extraordinary. Maybe it's that we bring our ordinary selves everywhere we go, and that's actually the whole beautiful mess of it.
Spot on, Alexander. Dang. I relate with this so much.
Thanks for reading, & taking the time to comment, my friend.
Cory, this is beautiful.
“Humbled only by how long it takes to realize we were having a great day.” That’s the whole thing.
I love that you’re not romanticizing it while you’re in it — the ripped sails, wet groceries, sewage and all. That honesty is what makes the reflection land.
Every chapter feels ordinary until it’s memory. And the fact that you can see that now, while you’re still inside it, feels like the real gift.
💛 Kelly
Thanks Kelly! Yes, I’m trying to stay verrrry aware of the amazing life I have now, & not take it for granted. Even my “lowest lows” are some of my favorite moments! I know that’s the reality of things, isn’t it?!
It really is. The “lowest lows” often carry the most texture later. They’re the parts that make the whole thing real.
Staying aware without forcing it feels like the sweet spot.
I'm glad you are treasuring each day at sea. I did so much of that when our family spent 6 years sailing around the world. I can take myself back there still, watching the wake we made, those perfect turquoise peaks rising and falling beside me, the sound of the sails and the seas during night watches, the gentle roll of the boat rocking me to sleep as we lay at anchor---you know what I mean. You will remember this and it will bring you back there years and years from now. Time folds in such a lovely way.
I love this Deborah! Thanks for sharing. I totally know what you’re talking about. There are certain memories, like the light on the water, that are seared in my mind. I never knew the world can be so beautiful. We all need that reminder, & you got that accessible at any time. So cool!
Everything you said is so true, Cory. As humans, we are constantly changing, striving, doing instead of just being in the moment. I think there has to be a balance of looking forward but also enjoying the now. Sounds easy but it is a constant juggling act. However, I think that you are really great at enjoying the now and appreciating how far that you have come while also being very aware that all of this is temporary. We never really "arrive"....we just have to enjoy the journey. And from what I can see, you are extremely gifted at doing just that!
I’m so happy you got all that, Lisa! That balance is soooo key for me too. I know the common wisdom is “carpe diem,” right, & there’s soooo much truth to that, too. Knowing myself, though, there’s always an awareness of how the moment will someday become memory, & that perspective shift is going to bring a whole new meaning to the events of today. It really helps to improve my gratitude honestly!
Thanks, Cory, this really took me back to my 8 months sailing to and around the Bahamas from DC in 2002. I'll go back and look at your earlier posts but I'm curious about the cruising community you encounter. It was strong even back then but nowadays I bet it's a lot easier to stay in touch, ask for help, give directions, and celebrate together. Some good people out there.
Wow, very cool you had that experience, Charlotte! Right now it’s absolutely easier to stay in touch with folks. I also did some nomadic traveling by land back in 2006, & lots of those people I met (pre-smartphone, pre-Facebook) were lost to time. But I think now it might be a little easy to isolate. You can reach out to people on sailing-networking apps, like NoForeignLand, if you need help with something; and people will be there. But it’s much rarer for a stranger to just knock on your boat & say “Howdy captain!” Similar to land life in a way. A stranger knocking on our doors is weird! But I agree — some of the best people out here in the entire world!!
I started saying "this is my life and it's happening now," and it's sunk in... all of "this" is life.
ABSOLUTELY Matt! That’s the realization I’m having out here, too. I was looking at a sunset a few days ago & thinking, “Omg, this is temporary.” I know from a certain vantage point this may sound like I’m already writing the obituary on my sailing chapter. But that’s not it. It’s just a recognition of how memories are formed.
I’m imagining Natalie Merchant singing “These Are Days” in the background as you wrote this! So great that you are reflecting on all of these special, but ordinary moments.
I love that so much. I’m listening right now :)
“It's true that you
Are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you”
🙏
Man these posts make me miss being on the water.
But again, there are downsides like no gym, transient community, and the lack of fresh food.
Im enjoying my land life, but have so many fond memories of life at sea.
Yes, tons of constraints here, too — just like any life. It’s all about choosing the constraints we want, I think! I can do yoga & pushups on deck, walk onshore, & go hiking when the opportunity arises. But no matter what: it’ll all be fond if we’re living the life want now.