Earlier this week I was pondering the question “what have I learned from working and living on boats that I can write about this week?” Something that is absolutely crucial if you want to stay sane in the boating world is flexibility. And so this week I want to think a little bit about flexibility and the role it plays in our lives.
With sailing in particular you learn quickly that flexibility is a requirement. Sailing is dependent on wind. Which means that the experience that you have is going to be completely dictated by the weather. Some days you are looking forward to a relaxing sunset cruise and instead yourself in high wind completely heeled over. Other times you are looking forward to a high intensity race and you find yourself sitting like ducks with not a breath of air in the sails. But that’s just sailing. You can’t control the weather. And getting upset about it will only make your experience worse.
Other aspects of boat life also nudge you towards releasing control. When you’re living on a boat you are forced to accept that you must make do with what you have. Things will break. You have to monitor your electricity use depending on how you get power. Sometimes your water tanks run dry and you can’t do the dishes until you go fill them. These have become facts in my life that I’ve just had to get used to. Being able to go with the flow and handle issues as they come up has made my life a lot less stressful.
The weather is something that we can prepare for and (to an extent) predict.. Issues within boats can often be avoided with preventative measures and maintenance. But the one thing that we all really need to release control of is other people.
No matter how badly we wish we could, we cannot control what other people do. Their decisions, their habits, the things they say – we cannot dictate that for them. The only thing that we do have control of is how we react to them. This is something that I’m trying to remember more and more. Sometimes it’s important that you are flexible within your relationships. Allow people the room to be their own selves. You won’t agree with them all of the time. That’s okay. Be flexible.
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