by Ray Jason
It is Christmastime down here in the Banana
Latitudes. Far to the north in the
Frenzied Latitudes, the shoppers are body-slamming each other with vigor and
venom. In a little Panamanian town
square, I savor the sight of the Indio families in from the hills letting their
children marvel at the lights and the decorations. Compared to El Norte, it is all so calm and
unhurried and moderate. Surely gifts
will be exchanged on the big day, but there is none of the fevered gluttony for
stuff that soils the holidays in the First World.
As I leave the park to head back to
AVENTURA, a faint, sweet music whispers from the little chapel across the
street. I cross over and answer its
call. It is a choir of children
practicing Christmas carols. The beauty
and innocence on their faces is enough to inspire a Leonardo to reach for his
canvas and brushes. I am spellbound by
the sound of these old English folk songs exquisitely rendered in Spanish. Their last song is a playful version of “The
Twelve Days of Christmas.”
It is still joyously cascading in my
head when I step back aboard my lovely sailboat. Since eggnog is not available this close to
the Equator, I improvise and combine some warm milk with some Bailey’s Irish
Crème. It keeps my festive joy simmering;
and I settle in to ponder what “my true love might give to me.”
I chuckle at the realization that I
don’t have a “true love” to bequeath me twelve days of gifts - or even two days
of gifts. What woman would wish to mate
with an impoverished, sea gypsy philosopher who is already becalmed in his
Middle Years? But as I scan AVENTURA’S
small but handsome interior, I realize that my boat has been my truest true love. Through heart-stopping dangers and heart-soaring
delights, she has been my companion and my enabler. She has allowed me to embrace a tough but extraordinary
“path less traveled.”
When I begin to meditate upon this more
deeply, I am pleased by how swiftly I can tally up twelve days worth of
blessings that my sea gypsy life confers upon me. And so I enumerate them on my little Socratic
clipboard. (Yes, I often write without a
computer!) Then I explore each of them
more thoroughly. None of these can be purchased or wrapped or packaged - but
what fine life gifts they are!
1)
CONTENTMENT To be happy and healthy in the here and now
of one’s daily Life, is the greatest gift that any true love could
provide. And this condition is even more
remarkable in our era, because it is so difficult to unshackle ourselves from
the powerful Modern Discontentment Machine.
The relentless juggernaut of our materialistic culture does everything
in its power to convince us that we are sadly inadequate, and can only be
complete if we buy more stuff.
2)
IMMERSION IN NATURE
My sailboat and I do not just
visit Nature, we are immersed in it – both literally and symbolically. Suspend your reading for a moment, and ask
yourself if you know what stage the moon will be in tonight. Or can you distinguish the call of an osprey
from the sound of a laughing gull? Such
things might seem inconsequential compared to the latest iPhone app, but there
are many who believe that Nature Deficit Disorder leads to enormous problems in
the modern world. Drop one of the few remaining
hunter-gatherers into a sprawling, concrete city and observe his extreme distress. We delude ourselves by thinking that we are
civilized and urbanized humans. But we
are still hard-wired as hunter-gatherers and when we are almost totally
separated from Nature, it causes significant psychological damage in both the
individual and the society.
3)
FREEDOM I know of no other way of life as independent as that
of the sea gypsy. And for me it is not
just geographical emancipation, it is the joy that comes from not being a part
of modes of living that profoundly disturb me.
I can completely liberate myself from the War Machine the Shopping
Machine and the Rape of Mother Earth Machine.
4)
COMMUNITY The sense of
togetherness is far more pronounced in the sailing fraternity. And I am not speaking in vague, ethereal terms,
but in brass tacks reality. This morning
most of the sailors gathered on the VHF radio for a daily communal network
where we shared information and assisted the newcomers. Two of today’s topics were the Christmas Eve
potluck that is being finalized and some questions about nearby low-cost medical
care. The bonds of support and harmony
are much stronger here in our water world than they are in terra world.
5)
SOLITUDE Although I cherish the wonderful sense of community
amongst the sailors, I also relish the solitude that I can so easily find by
simply hauling up my anchor and sailing a short distance away to an isolated, pristine
cove. There I can reconnect with my
other community – my animal friends who live in the sea and the sky. For a contemplative spirit, this seclusion is
essential. Indeed, for a philosopher,
tranquility is one’s friend and frenzy is one’s foe.
6)
FERAL-ICITY Most of humanity is totally disconnected from
the wild, untamed aspects of our animal nature.
The 80 or so remaining indigenous tribes scattered around our
homogenized planet, view us as domesticated animals –as cows or sheep. On the other hand they view themselves as
jaguars or eagles. They do not rely on a
keeper – they fend for themselves. This
sea gypsy life allows me to swim naked, howl at the rising moon, spear a fish
for dinner, greet the sunrise with a blast from my conch shell and generally
embrace my Inner Tarzan without worrying about neighbors on the cul-du-sac.
7)
SELF-RELIANCE For most people, the joy of repairing something has
become a quaint relic from by-gone times – something only seen in Norman
Rockwell paintings. But for the ocean
sailor, it is not just a nostalgic memento, it is a life or death
requirement. Smash into a floating
container that has fallen off a big ship, and you will be in a race with
Captain Grim Reaper. Being able to
swiftly fix that hole with a patch and some underwater epoxy is a
life-affirming rush if ever there was one.
Relying on one’s tool kit, spare parts and skill is a wondrous
experience.
8)
ELEGANT SIMPLICITY The ocean-going sailboat is
probably humanity’s finest combination of form and function. At sea, AVENTURA is strong, fairly fast and
she has a sea-kindly motion even in maximum miserable conditions. At anchor she is a perfect little bachelor
writer’s pad. Small - but spacious
enough - with a bright yet warm teak and mahogany interior accented with brass
lamps and bronze portholes. All of her
systems are as simple as possible. The pumps
and plumbing are manual and the electrical equipment uses basic on/off toggle
switches. The sun and the wind provide
the power. Although I am often reclusive, I am not a monk
eating grubs in a spidery cave. Mine is
not an ascetic existence but a pleasant one - with a fine library, good music
and even a stash of classic movies. It
is the physical manifestation of one of the pillars of my personal
philosophy. “Enough is good, but more
than enough is BAD!”
9)
PAYING FORWARD As an unrepentant hippie, I still believe in
the importance of trying in some tiny way to help make the world a better
place. By adopting this sea gypsy life,
which is so affordable and time rich, I am able to dedicate myself to what I call
The Way of Ratawi. This is my acronym
for “Reading and Thinking and Writing Inspirationally.” Fully aware that my little blog will probably
never influence the wider world even minutely, it still feels meaningful to me
- even if it is a fool’s errand.
10)
ECO-FRIENDLY As a part-time
Tarzan, who loves being cocooned in Nature, it is deeply comforting to me to
have such a tiny carbon footprint. My
water comes from the sky to the spigot with no electricity whatsoever. Almost all other electrical power for fans or
lights come through my solar panels or wind generator. I use about 2 gallons of diesel fuel per
MONTH! Each night AVENTURA and I can
rest comfortably knowing that we are not harming Mother Earth or Mother Ocean.
11)
COLLAPSE CONSCIOUS
Most deep-ocean sailors
embrace this mantra: “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst!” I have also applied that motto to my
carefully researched beliefs that Captain Catastrophe may be lurking just below
the horizon. As I thoroughly described
in the three “Sea Gypsy Tribe” essays that are easy to find here on my blog, I
suspect that calamitous troubles might await us. AVENTURA continues to be a test-platform for
how to survive if indeed there is a bad moon arising. I could literally sail away tomorrow and
survive comfortably at sea for a few months with the food, water, supplies and
tools that I have onboard as I complete this sentence.
12)
FUN My hippie brothers and sisters would likely
characterize most of the essays here at my blog as being “heavy.” And indeed, I do traffic in serious subjects
and attempt to speak powerfully and provocatively and poetically about
them. But this does not mean that my sea
gypsy life is also heavy. In fact, I
know very few people who are as happy as I am on a daily basis. Now that I have sailed into my Middle Years,
I understand that it is important to battle the Malignant Overlords; but it is also
important to embrace the joy and beauty that our EarthOcean planet bequeaths
us!