So anyway, lately I have been trying to define this nagging little feeling I have about giving up the security of the things I know, for the things that I've only read about in books. Living on land vs living on the water.
I am a planner. I look years into the future and try to plan my life for far longer than is even reasonable, but that's who I am, its a disease. Serena on the other hand has a difficult time planning for later today, however, she is always seeking security. She wants to know that whatever will happen tomorrow will be okay, because we are prepared for it, financially or otherwise. So, we have a planner, and a security seeker, and we're going cruising, huh....? Where, when, what, how long, how much, and whats left over........ You can imagine the conversations that go on, and on, and on..
I was talking to my Mom on the phone the other day; hi Mom; and I was telling her about planner and security seeker, and she mumbled something about "grown-up responsibility". Well, you can imagine the names that popped into my head, as I gently chastised her for such blasphemous speak. Hey, she is my Mom. But to most, retiring early and going cruising is a very irresponsible thing to do, isn't it?
The truth is that Serena and I are forcing ourselves to get out of comfort zones on purpose. We are not sure that cruising will be the answer, but we know what the problem is. We've seen far too many people over the years get comfortable in their lives, and miss all those things that they thought they might like to try. There comes a time when its too late, for whatever reason, to climb that mountain. And we don't want to be looking back and thinking, "I wish I had of...."
I remember watching Dave Martin on his families cruising video, "Ice Blink", and he said that when all his peers told him he was doing the wrong thing by blowing off a career to go cruising, and all the older gentlemen were telling him he was doing the right thing, he knew he was on the right track. Its the same reason that cruisers quote Mark Twain, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in you sails. Explore. Dream Discover." Partially because of the boating reference, but mainly because it is the drive that makes us go out onto the water in small boats, leave what you perceive to be safe for the unknown, because to not do so is inconsolable.
So during this process I have been trying to make a genuine effort to stop trying to plan my life. Occasionally I slip, like last night, talking about the design of our next house, which I know, could be twenty years away, or never, who knows. Serena won't give up her financial security, but that is okay, since having a few extra pennies to fall back on is never a bad idea. She is giving up the security of a comfortable house, but she has always been a trouper in that regard. After all, we lived in an 8'x12' shed for 5 months while building this house, and then the garage for another 9 months after that.
I tried to figure out a way to define what was really happening in my head, and I have been racking my brain for days. I wanted to be able to put it in words, but just haven't put my finger on it. Above was my feeble attempt. Every time I try I only picture a recent commercial on TV for the movie The Hobbit. I realize this reference may be lost on some, but, if you know J.R.R. Tolkien's Hobbits, other than food, comfort was their primary goal in life, and to be stepping outside of that was considered very strange and "unhobbit-like". ( About 49 seconds in, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1SJ7yaa7cI ) But in this commercial, Bilbo is running down the road all disheveled, yelling, "I'm going on an adventure".
No comments:
Post a Comment