I met a sailor in Ecuador, who told me that he has been sailing for 15 years, since he was 20. I asked him whether he had ever considered doing something else besides sailing, and he said no, because he loves the sea.
It's one of 2 things - either he does not know what the world has to offer so that sailing is the only world he knows, or he does know what the world has to offer but he is content with what he has. If it is the latter (and I suspect it is), I think that is real happiness. Knowing that there is so much more that you can achieve, or have, but being content with what you have now, no matter how little that is.
It is very difficult trying to find this balance. I grew up in a middle class family so I did not have a very luxurious upbringing. I remember one of my uncles taking us to a posh restaurant when I was maybe 13 or 14 and I did not know how to use a knife and fork, because we always ate at home, with our hands, and sometimes, very rarely, with a fork and spoon if we went out to a Chinese restaurant. Fork and knife? Never. And then when I started earning my own money, at first it sort of remained the same because I wasn't earning that much, but the more money I earne over the years, I found that I wanted more and more things - Astro, clothes sent to laundry, Internet, iPhone, a car, a house etc when I didn't really need any of this before and I was doing just fine.
In a way my decision to leave everything and travel is forcing me to confront what it is that one needs, and what it is that one wants. The only things that are truly necessary for survival are food, shelter and clothes. The rest are a bonus. I think the less one has, the happier one is. Unfortunately I live in a society where we are judged by how much we earn and what we have. I remember my relatives asking when I was going to buy a car, a house, etc but nobody ever asked me if I was happy. Why are material possessions more important than one's happiness? And why am I bothered about society's standards anyway? Because unfortunately, I am a part of that bloody society.
Sometimes I wish I could be a sailor who loves the sea. Whether he is poor, or single, or old, or has nothing else, at least he will always have the sea which he loves and which makes him happy.
It's one of 2 things - either he does not know what the world has to offer so that sailing is the only world he knows, or he does know what the world has to offer but he is content with what he has. If it is the latter (and I suspect it is), I think that is real happiness. Knowing that there is so much more that you can achieve, or have, but being content with what you have now, no matter how little that is.
It is very difficult trying to find this balance. I grew up in a middle class family so I did not have a very luxurious upbringing. I remember one of my uncles taking us to a posh restaurant when I was maybe 13 or 14 and I did not know how to use a knife and fork, because we always ate at home, with our hands, and sometimes, very rarely, with a fork and spoon if we went out to a Chinese restaurant. Fork and knife? Never. And then when I started earning my own money, at first it sort of remained the same because I wasn't earning that much, but the more money I earne over the years, I found that I wanted more and more things - Astro, clothes sent to laundry, Internet, iPhone, a car, a house etc when I didn't really need any of this before and I was doing just fine.
In a way my decision to leave everything and travel is forcing me to confront what it is that one needs, and what it is that one wants. The only things that are truly necessary for survival are food, shelter and clothes. The rest are a bonus. I think the less one has, the happier one is. Unfortunately I live in a society where we are judged by how much we earn and what we have. I remember my relatives asking when I was going to buy a car, a house, etc but nobody ever asked me if I was happy. Why are material possessions more important than one's happiness? And why am I bothered about society's standards anyway? Because unfortunately, I am a part of that bloody society.
Sometimes I wish I could be a sailor who loves the sea. Whether he is poor, or single, or old, or has nothing else, at least he will always have the sea which he loves and which makes him happy.
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