Gratitude

Life happens so fast and I’m always on the go. I often forget to stop and take everything in. It’s the quiet moments of the day that don’t come often enough, but when they do, an overwhelming feeling of gratitude reminds me to give thanks for my tiny floating home and all the opportunities that have come my way.

Almost two years ago I chose to sell most of my belongings and move aboard a sailboat with my boyfriend and my two dogs. Adjusting to simplicity was just that, an adjustment. Everything in my life is much more simple now and I often think back to all the previous years of my life wondering how I kept going that way for so long.

It’s my tiny floating home that now allows me a freedom I never knew. I can sail my home to a new destination any time I please. I can travel great distances and experience so much more of the world than I ever had access to before. Just in the past two weeks I’ve visited 6 different countries! My belongings are few and my life is simple. I collect memories (and photographs), not things.

Just yesterday I was living a sailor’s dream. Fair winds and following seas, with the sun shining down on my shoulders and the cool Caribbean breeze at my back. It was a gorgeous day to be out on the ocean. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath in, and I was reminded of how lucky I am to be out on the water every day, doing what I love.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all palm trees and pina coladas. There are many frustrating challenges every day when you live on a boat. The passages aren’t always during settled weather. Sometimes blood, sweat, and tears get the best of me. But as hard as it can be, I am still grateful to be able to choose this lifestyle.

What are you grateful for?

(All photos published with permission, courtesy of www.WhereTheCoconutsGrow.com)

By Jody Pountain for the [Tiny House Blog]