The Boat Plan

After 8 months of backpacking around the world I concluded happiness is a choice and often appeared to be inversely correlated with the number of possessions one owned. I had never felt freer and my only concern was where I was going to sleep at night. My total personal possessions were limited to what I carried on my back…some clothes, plenty of underwear, camera etc. I sold everything before I left.

Some of the people I had met left lasting impressions on my soul, specifically the smiles and look of satisfaction on their faces that contrasted with the stark poverty they lived in. Kids laughed and played with a soccer ball consisting of a rolled up piece of paper taped together while mom and dad opened their doors offering me a couch to sleep on. No iPads, cell phones, or electronics, just dirty shirts, no shoes and plenty of smiles.

After arriving back in the States I quickly plugged back into the “normal life.” I stepped into the current of our society and the 8 month trip became a dream, slowly occluded behind an ever thickening mist. I finished school, got a job, got married, bought a house, had 3 children, a variety of animals and hummed along with the Matrix of life. I love my wife, my kids and most of the time my job.

Over time I noticed I had started to become increasingly unsettled. The depths of my soul did not resonate with the reality I was living in. My house is filled with stuff and my schedule so busy that the greatest feeling of peace I derived from life was when I happened to be driving home from work, watching the sun set over the bay. While gazing out the window I listened to a story of a family that had sold everything to go live on a Catamaran in the Med…it felt like a hand slapping me on the face, trying to wake me from the dream I had succumbed to. It’s time to escape. I knew my wife felt similarly, and after a bottle of wine and a few hours I had her locked in. The date is set. The family is on board. Time to implement The Boat Plan.