There is a lot of distraction

Salsa af Stavsnas
Ellinor Ristoff Staffan Ehde
Sun 29 Jul 2012 20:09

So now we are at anchor in Swanage. A lovely city that climbs the hill along a bey overlooking Isle of White from a distance. Yes we have not made it much further than we still can see the "white rock".
What I'm about to write is not critique against anything that is specific Brittish.
When you travel what you get is usually an insight to your own culture and that is what we learn from.
Our intention is not to travel the world and have opinions on what people do in other countries, rather learn.
When we stayed in Poole we got a berth right by the waterfront and that is of course fun, when you can sit in your boat and watch the streetlife. Soon after we arrived a lot of activity broke out and soon there was a whole lot of entertainment with jugglers, comedians, bicycle stunts, live music, you name it.
Very entertaining indeed and we felt very priviledged to be able to just enjoy, ending with fire works at night.
Then there where just four of us again  and we felt we needed some quite place to just rest before continuing the journey (No offense to our guests, but you have to resettle).
Ended up at anchor in the bay of Swanage. Ellinor was tired so Erika and I prepared the dinghy to go ashore and the kids and I just had a ball with all sorts of entertainment happening in the streets. There was no end to what was going on, it is the Swanage week...
As we returned to the boat we tried to be quite to let Ellinor sleep but just as we boarded the boat  a grand firework got our attention.

A rockband kept us awake til midnight and soon you just heard desperate young men and women screaming on the beach. Hope they had fun, I remebered I had at that age...

As a stupid swede you think that there should be some sort of hang over today. Let´s go to the beach and just enjoy the sun, read and the kids can go crab fishing. Well even before ten that show was on again, loudspeakers, offers and of course by the beach there is everything you don't need. Try to ignore everything and read your book when the Red Arrows start to fly formations above you and make great stunts! Try again, and again.

And soon a family member is hungry and it is time to line up for something to eat. People everywhere! Which is fun of course! Believe me, I'm not complaining these are just reflections that hit me. How hard it nowaday to get a view free from offers, advertising, from distractions...

When you are at sea by yourselfe, it is five in the morning there is nothing stopping you from thinking. I wish all of us that are hungry for entertainment that there was a minute or two with silence. A minute or two with no excuses to avoid serious reflections. All distractions take us away from the possibility to find out what we really want and to do it. Can't help looking at all of us that walk or even run from one event to the other. Just as the Red Arrows are done there is a street carneval and after that some bands performing on stage again, and in between everybody has to send an sms or mms.
So believe me I enjoyed that 5 red airplanes did great formations above my head, but it became a metaphor about life and maybe a good explanation to why this trip feels important. Many of us work-consume-work-consume until the day a doctor tells us we are done.

It is good to jump off that wheel for a while and think it over, but also dangerous.