In a yoga class years ago, one of my great teachers told us the art of being happy. He said all you need are three things. Its simplicity though made me question it for years…
1-One needs something to do.
2-something to look forward to
3-and someone to to it with.
At the moment he was using this as a way to show that the practice of yoga gave you these things. It was simple and to the point. Ive learned cruising gives you the same opportunities.
Fast forward many many years….
Here I sit in the Cay’s of the Bahamas and that class has risen from the depths of my thought like the rising sun on a clear morning. This trip was planned with every attention to the details on where my friends were going to be. I knew the importance of that from the start, it just did not occur to me where I had heard it before. In the beginning when I was in transition that class came to me. I have been rolling those three things through my head over and over. Starting off as a shadow of grayness, and the shining bright until I could not hold onto the thought anymore.
The brightness of those three simple things has brought clarity to why I keep coming back to the same islands year after year. Sure its an adventure, and I love to use “Om” for the purpose she was built and outfitted for. The reef system here is truly world class and its an honor to see what I have seen. The friends that are made here are what gives it such a sacred feel.
You both share a common love, and that love is what initially starts the conversation. The chemistry does not always match up, and its not meant to be. When it does match up, its a powerful experience. It becomes a life long bond.
My first trip to the Bahamas was 12 years ago. That trip marked the beginning of numerous friendships that have stayed the test of time. Seeing them again is as if we had just been a week ago. Catching up over dinner of fresh lobster and fish never gets old.
Our weather this year has been a bit of a mess, but finally the winds have calmed and some of my friends have made it over to this side. Its been a great time being in their company, free diving, having dinner parties and just shooting the breeze. Over the next week I have friends coming to stay on the boat with me. Fun will be had by all for certain.
This is what makes coming to the islands so special. After a while, a beach is a beach and an island is just another island. In the end its who you get to hang out with that really matters.
One of my favorite lines lately has been ” If you aren’t happy where you are, then you aren’t going to be happy where your headed to”.
The plan is to venture off to more parts of the world one day. For now though I will enjoy where I am, who I am with, and be grateful for all that is.
