Which Island did I Choose?

I saw this picture and the decision was made.

Thoreau's Walden profoundly inspired me and I always wanted to do what he did: leave the distractions of the daily grind to find out the meaning of life. He wrote his philosophical book while living in the woods in a house that he had built himself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts.

I chose the tropical beach version. But I didn’t just randomly select Tortola; it was months of research (before Google) to select the perfect Island. If you think about it, there are thousands of islands and even coastlines around the world. Narrowing down the decision wasn’t an easy task. I put all my top desires on a list and began my pursuit for the perfect isle.

My desires for this seaside adventure included several things. It had to be a place that was warm, desolate, English-speaking and where I could surf. Then I compared it to Thoreau’s experience. After doing this, I added to my list that I wanted to live off the land and be near to civilization to visit occasionally.

What happened next was reality entered into my fantasy. There were practical things that I was neglecting and these were the criteria that eventually made the determination. If I were to live off the land, I couldn’t just go to Club Med or crash on someone’s property in Malibu. I needed a place that I could legally do this – or at least be left alone to live. Through a few friends, I found that one entire side of a magnificent coast of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands has remained undeveloped. He added that there was raging surf on this wild and rugged side and was perfect for those seeking the elemental side of life with several bays inaccessible by land, only by boat.

 

The other decisive factor was food. I found that Tortola’s ancestors had planted avocadoes, mangoes, coconuts and breadfruit all over the island. These foods are high in nutrients and you could survive on these foods. Ghandi (though thin) lived exclusively on avocadoes for years during protest.

Brewer’s Bay –

Until we find our ultimate secluded beach, we are staying at a campsite that remains one of Tortola's most well known yet private beaches. The beach is gorgeous! There are a few reasons this area is so secluded. Access by road consists of switchbacks and steep descents some would rather not attempt. Access from the water is off limits to all charter yachts because of power cables lying across the cove. It’s a quiet haven. The tents are right on the beach and are covered with mosquito netting that have enclosed "porch" area for the propane stove, lantern and such. The sound of the lapping waves is dreamy.  It’s an ideal place for us to stay until we find our definitive isolated beach!

How did I take a year off from the Big Apple and live on an Island?

To begin with, I must say these three things: 1) taking a year off from your entire life, is never easy before you leave 2) It is so worth it 3) It is easier to do when you are young with the least amount of responsibilities.

I am young and do not have children. But I still had a life in NYC that I created, am attached to and had a hard time leaving.  I worried mostly about what I would return to. The hardest part was tying up every last piece. Red tape. The easiest part was arriving here and realizing how little those things matter now that I am here.

Now let’s discuss money. I had no idea really how much I needed. I wanted to live off the land and not spend a single dollar, but naturally I couldn’t take a year off penniless! Turns out there were many expenses before I left the country and as soon as arrived (and probably when and if I return). I raised as much money as I could: I worked several jobs, I saved, sold everything I owned that I wasn’t bringing with me, and I cashed in my investments. I didn’t need to, but I would have borrowed (and begged) money, applied for loans, grants or had my trip sponsored.  The amount I brought with me is $5,439.50

When I left, I had many jobs to quit. I had coveted jobs bellydancing at cafes, restaurants and nightclubs that I had to quit and knew that I would be replaced immediately. I am fortunate that the probability is good that I can work again at one of these places, or find another bellydance gig in NYC – or anywhere! The more difficult occupation to leave was telling my talent agent that I was quitting acting, or at least leaving for a year. They had taken a chance by signing me a year ago with little experience and had been building my career. They felt betrayed and said to not dare call them when I returned. Drama!

Okay, here comes the one that will make every New Yorker gasp in horror. I had a gorgeous brownstone in Chelsea that I paid $500 a month for a legal sublet that I had to say goodbye to. I heard that after I leave, it would be rented for $3500. I could have illegally subletted it or calculated some other shady scenario to keep the dream NYC living locale, but I chose to let it go. Cie la vie.

The red tape was tedious and the list grew daily. Now, many of these things I did could have been neglected or I could have dealt with the consequences upon my return.  Just a sampling: Give/sell all possessions, but keep the essentials until the last minute, Mail had to be redirected (or held as I chose) for entire year. The endless questions: do you get travel health insurance? (no) Do you keep some money here in an account for security (yes). Cancel all credit cards (you cant pay for them while out of the country). Taxes. A contact address.

My friends were the hardest of all to leave. Unlike everything else, my friends would be there when I returned, but they were the things on this list that made me question my thirst for adventure. When it came down to reality, my friends ARE my LIFE, not my belongings. My friends did not make it easy for me, either. They worried, they complained, they asked at least a million questions daily, they didn’t understand, and they thought I had gone bananas.

I also had my doubts and fears that arouse. And argued with my boyfriend Eddie, who was my partner on this journey here. It wasn’t an easy journey to get here, but it had to be done. This journey had to happen and whatever had to be done to get here was possible.

I believe anything that you truly want is possible and I believe everyone can do their own version of taking a year off, even with children, should they choose to. Anyone can take a year off from working to write a novel, travel the world, and do yoga every morning or return to health. If you have the desire and the courage to make it happen, it will be the year you remember most. Probably most fondly, too. 

Why am I on an Island?

I am a bellydancer who just left her sequins at her home in New York City to make a new home on an island. I was accustomed to eating dinner out at restaurants every night and now I am going to have to gather my supper. I had a beautiful Brownstone with a dreamy bed that had Egyptian cotton 800 thread count sheets and now I am going to sleep on the ground.  I had great friends that I spent most of my time with and now I am going to be alone with no one to talk to, but my boyfriend. Why?

Since arriving, everyone asks us the same question: How long is your vacation? In NYC, before I left, everyone asked the same question: Where are you traveling on your vacation? I tell them this is NOT a VACATION. It is an experiment, a journey and an adventure that I am taking for an entire year. A vacation is something you do when you a take a break, an escape from work, for R&R and possibly to learn about a different culture.

Then EVERYONE asks, “Why?”  I think they secretly want to take a year off, too.

I want more than just taking a year off. I am not simply sick of my job. I want to know my life’s purpose.  I do know that life isn’t about working a job, or getting straight A’s in school or even being an artist. Life is learning to be authentically yourself and being the best you that you could be, allowing your inner light to shine. Life is being aware of your weaknesses and learning to grow within these limitations. It’s about learning your strengths and how to breathe within them. It’s about finding the path that is yours to follow and seeing the signs that you are on the right path. Life is about finding what is your gift to give to this world – and finding the best way to share it with society.

I have much to learn from society. This is precisely why I feel the urgency to be away from civilization in order to find my place in humanity. I need to be away from any of the pressures to do, to accomplish, to succeed. No one creates a larger burden on myself than myself. I want to remove the external ways that I used to prove that I was special. I need to be away from the ego I had in NYC to see what lies beneath.  I need to be submerged in nature to hear that voice.

In NYC, I got a befuddled look: aren’t you going to be bored?  I told them I had no idea, but I was willing to find out. I told them it was worth the risk to get the answers to the questions I have about the meaning of life, specifically, the meaning of my life.

The questions continued, with most people perplexed with our plans of “roughing it”. It’s true; we have abandoned certain luxuries and comforts of New York City life.  But the sacrifices that one makes to live the so-called “good life” are too GREAT! Most of us spend our lives working at a job we loath only to get by, sometimes never realizing what our true gift or contribution to society is. We work to acquire stuff and become slaves to our possessions. I truly believe THAT is the ROUGH LIFE.

I WANT TO LIVE BY MY PHILOSOPHIES! But first I need to find out what I believe. These are my goals on my great adventure:

1) To learn lessons about life from nature. In nature, everything is perfect. Everything. We will watch how everything is connected and follow its voice. Live in harmony in nature, not creating the mounds of garbage, which I do even when I consume a frozen yogurt.  That disturbs me! Eating only what I can gather, kill, completing the cycle of life.

2) Knowing that what I believe comes completely from what I have learned. Separate my beliefs from what I have believed because other believed it, specifically my parents.

3) Knowing how to truly communicate. What good is technology when I cannot communicate effectively because I don’t know what I am feeling or how to express it?

4) To find my purpose in life, my path, my reason for being, my raison d entre.

5) Live fearlessly and authentically.