Whitsundays: A Week of Total Disconnect
Over the end of 2018 and the start of 2019, I was lucky enough to go sailing around the Whitsundays. A beautiful part of the world off the coast of north Queensland. The Whitsundays are a chain of islands known for their pristine white sand, blue waters and unique underwater life (hello, Great Barrier Reef).
You may have seen Johnny Depp running around as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of The Caribbean, or Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey finding lost treasure in Fool’s Gold (my personal favourite). It was quite the adventure sailing on a catamaran across the bluest water and most colourful coral I have ever seen.
Total Disconnect :
My Week Sailing the Whitsundays
It felt amazing, being void of any Netflix, Instagram, Messenger or social applications. To have life stripped down to it’s bare necessities, to take naps, to read books, to start conversations and pick up old ones.
The simple, true act of being present with everyone around me.
If anything, it made me realise how much we (read: I) depend on technology and social media as a distraction for every day life. I was reminded that our world is out there, around us. Not in the palm of our hand. Call me a millenial, but I tend to fall under that cliched category.
While everything didn’t go right, it was funny when it went wrong. Approaching every bump, every windy or rainy day with a sense of adventure and appreciation.
Approaching into the new year, it wasn’t really about dropping the things that don’t matter, but rather finding the old things that do.
Here are some simple habits I set out for myself for this new year:
Wake up in the morning and be alive. By this I mean : leave the phone, get up, say good morning to the person next to you, stretch, go outside, walk, contemplate, meditate. Don’t let your phone be the first thing to awaken you. I’ve let this be a bad habit for way too long.
Gratitude! Saying thanks, recognising the joys around you. The little things that make you lucky to be alive.
More reading. Books, books, books. I can’t say enough how much I’ve loved getting back into them in 2018, and this year is no different. I now make time to read during my day and it’s the best feeling ever. It’s also the best way to improve on your writing skills.
Take the time to make a healthy lunch. Nap, rest. Two things I forgot how to do in the past.
Learn something new — for this one, sailing was such a fun way to spend the day and learn the ropes (literally!).
Make conversation. Always.
Go to bed early.
As I look at my journal, the sentence I read over and over again says “Be More Free”. And so I will. With myself, with my habits.
If you don’t evolve, you’re stuck in a pattern. This break was a fantastic way to break old habits and start better ones. A re-alignment of sorts. Something I use to hear in my yoga classes, time and time again was:
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten”
Corny, but it rings true in so many ways. If you’re looking for different results, then shift your mindset and the way you do things. So here’s to new and old habits this year, stripping away all the un necessary fluff and excuses, and staying real to our surroundings.
I’m all for it.
