Solo Life: 3 Tips to Self
Lowell Sheppard • May 2, 2020
I was asked recently (as I am preparing for a solo crossing) what I am learning in the current climate of social distancing that will help me prepare mentally for the 2-3 month voyage.
To be honest, I feel quite lucky because "at home" for me is a sailboat, 50% of the time, and a log house on a mountain side, the other 50%. Oh, and an electric car to get me between the two every week or so. The bubble I live in is quite pleasant.
Others are much more confined. My 91 year old mother is one who has suffered intense loneliness and solitude as she has been confined to her 30 sq meter room for 5 five weeks. Each time she pokes her head out the door, she says, a booming voice scolds her saying, "Get back in your room!"
I am filled with respect and love for people like her.
For the last year I have been contemplating much, how to prepare for isolation, seclusion, solitude and loneliness. These are things that cause sailors to go mad, I am told. Hallucinations, voices and nightmares are common for the solo sailor, from what I have read. To be frank, the prospect is of being alone in the middle of the North Pacific is unsettling at best, and at times terrifying.
So, I am eager to prepare mentally
For me, and despite how fortunate I am, I am taking note of three tips to self, that I must remember in order to not only survive my 2-3 months of solitude on my ocean passage, but to thrive! The three tips have to do with three horizons.
So, here my three TIPS TO SELF:
Tip # 1: Look to the distant large horizon and ponder the profound
I have found that, each porthole I look out of offers me a slightly different perspective on the world outside. But, each offers me and opportunity to look at the horizon and be aware of the world that is larger than my confined space. Each porthole, for me, offers a slightly different horizon and possibilities.
Tip # 2: Look to the near and tiny horizon and search for the magical
I am relearning how to walk around my small space with in the spirit of exploration and adventure. One of my favorite travel books was written in 1741 by a Frenchman, Xavier de Maistre, called "A voyage around my room". He was confined to his room for six weeks, and he chronicled his travels around his room.
"When I travel through my room, I rarely follow a straight line ..."
It is a wonderfully fascinating read as it transforms a small space I inhabit into a universe to be explored. By the way, he found so much from his discovery that he wrote a sequel called "Night time travels in in my room" in which he ventured out on his balcony!
Tip # 3: Look at the inner horizon and in search of comedy
Laughter is a great stimulus. It brings a change of attitude. It is, in fact, a contagion for joy. I am learning so much as I prepare for my voyage, and most of my learning is the result of failure. Sometimes, my mistakes are so stupid, I can only laugh at my own expense. Then, there are the moments of pure joyous laughter when I solve a problem I had thought was insurmountable. Whatever the cause of the laughter, I find it is a contagion that infects the soul and spreads throughout my life. Quite simply, laughter is uplifting.
Stay Safe, Stay Well, Stay Hopeful and stay Happy.
Or, as a friend of mine said: Stay positive and keep negative.
