"Turn off, turn off the song. You can listen to it later. Go outside."

Last week I discovered the world of competition sailing and I believe I had more fun on the water than I’ve had in a long time. It was thrilling to feel the sail boat lay nearly on its side in the bay, to have the waves wash over my legs while letting go for a tack and then climbing to the other side of the boat to do it all again. Mere feet separated our boat from the other competitors as we cut around the buoys; so close you could almost reach out and touch them. While the race was good fun, there was no fun involved for the sailing catamaran that capsized and sank. All crew was safe but the boat was a lost cause. Although this is a weekly race through the Whitsunday Sailing Club, this was the first time I had participated. A half hour before the race I was meeting the crew of three for the first time and it turned out they had heard me on the radio that morning talking about my activism work. Small world…or rather, small town. Last week, ABC Tropical North radio out of Mackay interviewed my boss about our new eco cruise aboard the sailing vessel, Derwent Hunter. The mention of my name and my work with Sea Shepherd and Save Japan Dolphin prompted the reporter to do a separate profile on me. I was able to talk a bit about my work with SSCS and to get a good plug in for the new Save Japan Dolphins Australia chapter, which is coming along beautifully. Being the volunteer coordinator and having the responsibility of establishing a brand new chapter on my shoulders has been what I needed to pull myself out of the funk I’ve been in. These nearly three months in Australia have been challenging, there is no doubt, but like every other challenge in my life, I have chosen to take this difficult time and use it to make me a stronger, more capable person. I have chosen to embrace the pain caused by recent events and move forward. Now it all comes down to a decision (doesn’t it always?) and I am faced with several different paths; a choice of opportunities that all seem intriguing and promising. I already know which direction I will go but I’m hesitant to announce it to the world until I know which path will choose me. It has always seemed to me that life will go on living the way it’s meant to, despite how much we worry and stress, and all we can do is simply enjoy the ride. Sometimes I feel like Alice, lost on a dark forest path, willing the Cheshire Cat to tell me what to do. I have always had a nomadic heart beating inside me and the moment I graduated high school and was free to finally chase my dreams, I ran with everything I had and I ran far. But of all the places I have lived, never have I felt more at ease within myself than when I’m kicking it West Coast style in Bellingham, Washington, just north of Seattle. And while I will always consider ‘The Ham’ my true home, the time in my life to stow my suitcase away under the bed has not yet come. Although my heart beats for the crisp salt air blowing in off Puget Sound and the fresh pine scent of the Pacific Northwest Evergreen trees, the fact remains that my country has disappointed me, my family has hurt me and although I have a small group of dear friends (you know who you are) back home, I feel no real connection to the United States. So now, I am in the process of preparing to make the journey that has recently been offered to me by researching different Visa types and attempting to learn a foreign language (which is something that doesn’t come easily for me). But if I tell you now what my immediate future holds, then there’s no intrigue to ensure your return to my blog;) But I will tell you this: nearly every day reminds me that life really is worth living, and although at times it feels so incredibly bleak, there is always something amazing to be found if your eyes are wide open. Be it something small or something life-changing, simply being alive is not a thing to be wasted. Life won’t wait…and neither should you.