This post derives from a comment left on my blog yesterday after my Row Row Row your Boat posting.
“Do these people who row across oceans, sail around the world, and do other "great stunts" actually ever work like real people? I mean really, how many people out there could take say six months off work to sail around the world and STILL HAVE A JOB? Get a life, people. These are either filthy rich people or people who get sponsored by rich people as an advertising gimmick. Nothing of any real VALUE to see here, move on! “
I really do understand what the commenter is thinking. But it was the “get a life, people” that really hit me. Certainly different strokes for different folks. I’m a parent of two young (20-something) adults. They’ve been raised to understand the importance of hard work and the value of money, and we expect them to be contributing adults. But we’ve also raised them to know the importance of “getting a life”; a life filled with travel, knowing and learning about the world and it’s varied people, adventure, and even ‘stunts”. Our son has already started living that life with the Eye of the World, our daughter is still in school and figuring it all out. Me, I just use up vacation time, and can't wait for my future retirement.
I am just thankful that the adventurers (including those doing “great stunts”), regardless of where their resources derive, share their lives with us on blogs, in books, movies, and other media. Certainly as the commenter notes, many of us cannot choose to live that life (for whatever reason) even for a short time, so how wonderful to at least have the opportunity to live it through another.
Now..., back to preparing for my own little itty bitty adventure on the high seas of Core Sound, the Neuse River, and the Intra Coastal Waterway of NC’s Outer Banks in our own homemade boat.
3 comments:
Right on, Dawn! A life lived without a dream or a star to follow is not much of a life, in my opinion.
As for the gorgeous staysail on your boat, well, it's the thing dreams are made of! I love it!
To respond to that commenter - Many people who do things like row across the Atlantic, do so between jobs WITH corporate sponsorship. They will work for a couple of years, banking, and planning for there next adventure.
As to them 'Getting a life' I suppose 'life' is in the eye of the beholder. To some it's getting a regular job, and to others, it's taking 6 months off to climb a mountain.
PO
More power to the people who choose to "get" that kind of life! We should all aim so high.
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