HOW MANY LIVES DO YOU GET?
People are always asking the wrong questions about sailing around the world. The most frequent question is how much it costs to buy a yacht and do a circumnavigation. The second question is about how much time it takes, and the third question is about pirates and hurricanes. I understand why they ask those questions, but there are other more important questions on which they need to focus.
Questions like the following:
How many lives do you get?
If you aren't living your dreams now, when are you going to start?
How many years are you guaranteed to have perfect health?
How many years are you going to be alive?
These are the questions that really matter. It's easy to forget the facts of life.
Here are the facts of life.
1. You only get one life.
2. Life is short and death is long.
3. There is virtually no reason that you should not be living your dreams.
On the wall above my computer, I have a large chart that shows the timeline of human history. It goes from neolithic and paleolithic times right up to the present. It shows the major empires that for a time spread across and ruled planet earth. Some of those civilizations lasted for more than a thousand years, and now they are gone. Billions of anonymous people had their shot at life and then disappeared leaving hardly a trace.
When I traveled in the Saudi desert, I sometimes found arrowheads lying in the sand. The last person who touched that arrowhead lived in neolithic times more than eight thousand years ago. That arrowhead reminds me of the shortness of life, and that I should be living my dreams.
Your short stay on planet earth is frighteningly brief. It's like a puff of smoke or the flash of a meteor in the night sky. The facts of life are very clear. Life is way too short to not be living your dreams.
Go ahead. Live your dreams and make every day count for something good.
Even though your life is short, there is no limit to how good it can become.
Awesome music video that captures the essence of what it's like to sail offshore in a catamaran around the world when conditions are less than perfect. David Abbott from Too Many Drummers sings the vocals, and he also edited the footage from our Red Sea adventures. This is the theme song from the Red Sea Chronicles.
Sailing up the Red Sea is not for the faint of heart. From the Bab al Mandeb to the Suez Canal, adventures and adversity are in abundance. If you take things too seriously, you just might get the Red Sea Blues.
If you like drum beats, and you like adventure, then have a listen to the Red Sea Chronicles Trailer.
Flying fish assault Exit Only in the middle of the night as we sail through the Arabian Gulf from the Maldives to Oman. And so begins our Red Sea adventures.
Sailing through Pirate Alley between Yemen and Somalia involves calculated risk. It may not be Russian Roulette, but it is a bit of a worry. Follow Team Maxing Out as they navigate through Pirate Alley.
Stopping in Yemen was just what the doctor ordered. We refueled, repaired our alternator, and we made friends with our gracious Yemeni hosts. We also went to Baskins Robbins as a reward for surviving Pirate Alley.
After you survive Pirate Alley, you must sail through the Gate of Sorrows (Bab Al Mandab) at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The Gate of Sorrows lived up to its name with fifty knots of wind and a sandstorm that pummeled Exit Only for two days. Life is good.
Although I like the feel of a paper book in my hand, I love trees even more. When people purchase an eBook, they actually save trees and save money as well. Ebooks are less expensive and have no negative impact on the environment. All of Dr. Dave's books are available at Save A Tree Bookstore. Visit the bookstore today and start putting good things into your mind. It's easy to fill your mind with positive things using eBooks. No matter where you are or what you are doing, you can pull out your smart phone or tablet and start reading. You can even use electronic highlighters and make annotations in your eBooks just like paper books.
