Civil disobedience..Moral Compass..

 

Dear Friends,

These weeks, with Dora in Brazil for pending business issues, calmly anchored in Aruba and sometimes very busy in managing my free time….I am catching up on overdue medical check ups (dental, skin etc), the to-do boat list (yes my friends, I take the luxury of spending one whole day on a cabinet door repair…). The other day talking to new neighbours here in the anchorage we shared experiences that it takes a while to get over the good old strut of working the 9 – 5 routine. It is probably a mix of upbringing, religion (calvinistic pray and work doctrine…) and culture… Anyway, now, having the time (how prescious is that) it is one of the many blessings we can count everyday, also reading more (viva Kindle, and free music downloads…). Finally our BitStorm Wifi antena booster is paying of.. I am catching aride on the relatively good wifi signal courtesy of the Renaissance Hotel… a big thanks.

So, yes, I saw Matt Damon reciting a text (from Howard Zinn,1970) regarding civil disobedience (http://daily.represent.us/matt-damon-blows-your-mind/) and thought that was very interesting. I do feel sometimes that the rules don’t apply to me…This feeling is amplified once you are living and traveling by sailboat, where there is only one authority but your own.

I read information from fellow cruisers who aparently get upset with Custom and Immigration Red tape (in several countries) for instance after checking out they want you gone imediately or in either 4 or 24 hours, and some fellow cruisers have dificulty in following those time frames and get upset..  and I don’t get that.. Some complain about the fact that there are seemingly different rules and regulations all the time…And yes, they are right, but …. Once you decide to live your life onboard a sailboat, you have the golden oportunity the choose free will, to make up your own rules and follow your moral compass. Truly, those custom and immigration things… Just be civil disobedient, don’t take whatever Custom official tells you for the truth…. Being on a sailboat you can always get away with not complying with their time line (too much wind, no wind, motor issues…) and that is IF somebody comes out to question you..

So, maybe we should all sometimes let the pirate inside speak up… It is ok to practice being civil disobedient every now and again (always??), use your own free will and follow your moral compass…

 

Chill

Pieter