Interesting times we found ourselves in, the world has come to a staggering halt with the covid19 pandemic infiltrating the farthest reaches of the globe and countries going into nation-wide lockdowns as an effort to stop the spread of the virus. It has given all of us time to think deeply & reflect, driving some of us to the brink of insanity on this rollercoaster like journey.
The idea behind the lockdown is to minimise our exposure to the virus while the medical field do the best within there scope of solutions to manage the spread and possibly even develop a vaccine for those who have been infected. Well that's at least what we have been encouraged to believe. I don't intend on writing about my feelings towards this though, instead I've got a different topic I'd like to dig into...
Instead I'd like to dig into the topic of self-isolation, from the perspective of a professional! To be honest it is something I have been doing all along. To put the story into perspective let me describe my upbringing some. I came from a good middle class household in an Afrikaans district of Cape Town, South Africa. I am the middle child in my family with an older brother (love you boetie) and a younger sister whom I have too learn't so much from! In my household, active lifestyles were not promoted and as a result the three of us ended up being podgy little buggers, with myself taking the crown I reckon. It is interesting because my parents weren't out of shape, but somehow they didn't seem to notice us rounding up. I remember being commemorated as a youngster for my impressive skill of being able to smash a full plate of food from the "adult menu" at the Spur, a notorious family resratuarnt chain. This was my claim to fame!
Now fortunately for me my fate was about to take a drastic turn. Around the age of 12 I got into contact with surfing, with the help of my good friends Jp and Matthew. I remember this day as clear as the daylight itself. Well, I say surfing but really the start of the journey was bodyboarding. Mathew and I were invited down to the local surf spot "Silkies" with ou brownbear and I remember sharing a set of flippers with Matthew that Jp loaned us. This was the true beginning of the stinging! It wasn't long before all interests were dropped, food included, while we began on our journey with the mother ocean. The ocean and nature in general have taught me so much and have guided me through my journey in life. It is a journey I hold close to my heart and will be eternally grateful for it. I could speak endlessly about the background to my upbringing, really I have much to say about it and even more to be grateful for. All of the wise influences, Tjoekie, Andy, Jamie, Oom Joe to name a few. You guys have all helped so much along my path and I hope I get to offer such assistance to others in the future.
Learning to have fun in nature was the start of my journey with isolation. All of a sudden I found myself having the time of my life, without a soul in sight! I quickly learn't that joy was something that existed within, and that with a little bit of creativity it could be attained under any circumstances, although key to my success had always been with freedom of movement. I clearly recall being around 18-20 and learning that if I hopped on my bicycle and travelled east towards the mountains of Gordons bay, I could leap off of the mountain into the sea and turn that frown of boredom into a crown of total freedom. This was a pivotal finding along my journey and the start of many and inspiring solo-quest. A little bit of freedom can go a long way!
This was the beginning of many a mission for myself. It all started with a bicycle and the coastline near home. Not long thereafter it was the mountains and ever-bending coastline of the Boland, before eventually migrating the efforts to a global scale where I was lucky/crazy enough to do some solo travels to some really epic places. All the people I met along the way, all of the sights seen without a single distraction. These are some of my fondest memories!
Now don't get me wrong, I am all too stoked when a mission is shared with like-minded friends. Nothing stokes me up more than it really. What I would like to instead emphasize if the fact that a little bit of freedom can go along way. In my ideal, freedom is totally required for managing these isolation guidelines we have been dealt.
"If you want fast go alone, if you want to go far, go together" - African Proverb
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