I haven't been able to go sailing for a while...life keeps getting in the way. I'm missing it desperately, which gave me cause to wonder what it is about sailing that I love so much ...
In a nutshell, it's the peace. Not just the stillness that nature provides, but the mental peace that comes from being completely absorbed in the moment, with no room in my mind for anything else. Whether I'm watching the sails and considering my next 'tweak', listening to the rush of water under the hull, or scrabbling - crablike - across the cabin roof to untangle a jib sheet, I am always fully in the present and focused on the task at hand.
Mental health experts suggest we only use around 10% of our brain in conscious thinking, but even that's enough to get us into trouble apparently! Hence the massive industry that's grown up around positive thinking and other cognitive therapies; the most recent incarnation being 'mindfulness', where participants are taught a range of techniques to keep them focused on the present moment, rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
It makes sense. Our cave dwelling ancestors had to live 'in the moment' or risk being eaten by a mammoth, clubbed on the head by an unfriendly (or possibly over-friendly!) neighbor, or starving to death.
Our modern, streamlined existence has given us more time to worry about the little things, to our mental detriment. So, if you're in need of some cerebral relief, pick up a book on mindfulness, book a session with a cognitive therapist (they don't like to be called shrinks) or ... go for sail!
And please ...take me with you!
Hello MelF, we are avid boaties too and have a book you'll enjoy. When we were just kids we homebuilt a yacht and took our two sons to the Great Barrier Reef for a look that expanded to a life afloat visiting 80 countries.
ReplyDeleteThe book, Two's a Crew, is about our later life. Grandparents now, away from the sea for nearly sixteen years, we re-floated our vessel then cast adrift the lines one more time while we can, and set off around Australia to see what had changed.
http://jackandjude.com/
Hello Jack (and Jude!),
DeleteThank you for taking the time to visit my blog. I think this is what it must feel like to have a celebrity 'drop in' at home when you are least expecting it.... awesome. :-)
I will definitely read Two's a Crew - and a few of your other books as well...love your website already! You're an inspiration.
Thanks, but don't want to be a celebrity, so much more fun being low profile slipping under the radar. We speak out through words, like yourself. Your blurb hit upon many truths. In the early years, our aft cabin was low like a cave, kids and us cuddled on the big bed, the caress of the sea felt so secure.
ReplyDeleteYou can download an Epub version of Two’s a Crew with heaps of colour photos for nix from our site. Cheers J&J
http://jackandjude.com/#epub