3rd February, 2024

With the Quiet, Thoughts Arise

January 20, 2024

This being our tenth year of cruising, it’s easy to take it for granted. But then, when we finally get underway, I find a renewed sense of peace that I had forgotten about. I had forgotten how special it is to have the ability to sail out into the open waters and just be – one with nature. When all goes quiet the rhythm of the sea blends into the rhythm of my breath.

Life can become chaotic, even in our retirement years. There are a million ways to keep ourselves busy. Not least of which is social media. My mind becomes cluttered between that and the news feeds. So many opinions from so many directions. I am hopelessly addicted.

We are on our fourth day of cruising. We have arrived at Chamela Bay, one of our favorite anchorages. I sit on the bow of the boat with a soft breeze cooling my damp skin from humidity. The boat is moving ever so slightly across the gentle ripples of the sea. Our friend and mate, Marshall, is fixing our ladder. Jay is troubleshooting the electronics. Our anchor light isn’t working. In the background is the engine’s rumble, a necessary evil to charge the batteries. My gaze wanders over to the palapas along the beach. It is early morning and there is not much movement on the shore.

I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to live in one of these seaside villages. The remote ones with no internet, no outside influences to speak of. They don’t have to carry the burden of the world, only their community at most. I fantasize that life would be simple, and easy. But would it? Daily fishing to feed the family. A job at the local market, stocking fresh vegetables and fruit. Some drive trucks carrying twenty-liter bottles of water for sale. Others run beachside restaurants. It’s not much different from our lives in the States. Different jobs for different people. But then, there are those who walk the beach daily, carrying their heavy wares in the hot sun, trying desperately to earn a living.

The town is filled with cement structures; some are finished, and many are not. Old women sweep the dirt in front of their houses. Most are small with few rooms. Children play nearby. Clothes hang on the lines in the yard. A broken wooden fence borders the yard of dirt with patches of grass struggling to grow in this arid terrain. Dogs lie in the street, shaded by a tree. Chickens wander free.

The locals here don’t have the luxuries and gadgets that many wealthier people have. Yet, they have smiles on their faces, sing while they are working, and joke with their friends. I am sure they have trials like anyone, but what is their secret to finding joy in the everyday constant we call living?

It has been 48 hours without social media. (Being without social media doesn’t mean I haven’t been checking to see if I have internet. My addiction continues.) This allows thoughts to arise.

I think the secret lies in being content with what we have and where we are at any moment. In seeing the beauty of our surrounding area. Someone will always have more. Someone will always have less. Those with more aren’t necessarily happier. Those with less aren’t necessarily unhappier. We all know this to be true. And still, we forget. I forget. We strive for more; to be the richest, the prettiest, the most successful. Not that these are bad traits. But they aren’t the secret to happiness.

Buddhism teaches that suffering is due to attachment. That our desires lead to suffering. Food for thought.