Settling in takes time

One of the first things I have learned about solo sailing is the vast amount of time one has to reflect on oneself and the things in your past.  Trading the hustle bustle of regular life is a two edged sword.  Regular life has so many distractions between work,  friends,  family,  chores,  pets.... the list goes on..  If you strip all this away and replace it with a small boat and a solid,  unbroken horizon with a pinch of ocean and sometimes wicked waves thrown in...  You spend a lot of time thinking about your past..  The future is yet unwritten.  All there is,  is waves,  wind and time....  Time...  Time to make peace with yourself as you watch the miles tick off on the GPS. 

I think this is a normal readjustment for anyone who goes from a fairly typical daily routine to stepping away from anywhere. 

What I find as being beautiful is taking the time to really enjoy the small things..  Like,  Orion has come above the horizon..  I don't know why but I have felt such enjoyment in seeing Orion make its appearance.  The stars so bright and a depth in the night sky like I haven't seen in a long time.  Blues typically masked from the night sky by the light pollution of civilization..  Seeing the night sky in its true 3 dimensional state not as a flat tapestry of small specks of white.  The sweet desolation of sound.  Wind and waves dominate the spectrum of sound.  Go outside and listen..  What do you hear?  If you are anywhere near a city, you will hear the sounds that civilization makes..  Imagine a world without this.  And the time..  The time to actually appreciate these small things..

The sailing life has many adjustments to make.  Slowing your mind down, thinking about the current and not too far forward or back.  Pay attention to the now because there will be no future if the current isn't respected... And the past, well, be happy for it because without it, you wouldn't be here on the ocean doing what you love.