Time passages

Another year, another adventure. It's funny how the years slip by. I've friends of mine who say how they'd love to travel like my wife and I do. Yet year after year they do the same old things over and over again. They don't take any steps to actually make things happen. Instead, things happen to them.

A good friend was interested in what it would cost to live on a sailboat. We went over the numbers. We checked out places that had free anchorages near things that interested him. He and his wife could swing it on her small disability check. He has some portable skills where he could generate some extra income. They won't do it.

Instead he'll hold onto a dead end job. His wife will suffer through harsh winters instead of enjoying warmth and sun.

Now sometimes it's a situation where one spouse wants adventure and the other doesn't. Some folks work around it. Maybe one spouse will go on adventures a few weeks or even months every year. For many that's enough to quench the wanderlust.

People will put up with the “not too terrible” rather than take a risk and go for the “really good.” They've become comfortable with their discomfort. After all, it's possible that one could go from “not too terrible” to “really bad.” Yes, that can happen. However, then you make changes until you get to the place you want to be.

Some folks will put up with things they hate, like a bad job in a place they hate, but they have a goal they are working towards. Maybe they are saving every penny so they can escape to something better. That's fine, but there's a trap in that thinking too. I've seen people who are working towards a goal of freedom, but have so many conditions that must be meet first that they never escape. It's like the guy who wants to live on a boat, but convinces himself he needs a million dollar boat.

While he's working towards his “perfect” boat, another guy is sailing the world on a $10,000 used boat.

One of my High School friends has reached the point where he just wants to retire next to a good hospital. The years take their toll.

-Sixbears