Could you tell me a time you felt free?
It’s a tricky concept, feeling free. There seems to be so much in life that pins us down. 2020 did it’s best to freeze our movement in the most extreme ways. I think a lot of people struggle with feeling overwhelmingly stuck, myself included. Cabin fever has become a pillar of my character of the past few years. The minute I feel anxious or get that feeling of being stuck I just drive away to a new place; spend the day outdoors and do something out-of-the-ordinary, and so 2020 became my living nightmare. I decided I needed a change.
After spending months on end locked inside, the 4th of July became my own personal liberation day. I packed up my things into my old VW van, stuffing wetsuits in corners and strapping surfboards precariously to the roof and set off to find a new backdrop. Freedom for me means living among the elements; anything that serves as the antithesis of routine indoor living. Driving at sunset down the A303 to Cornwall felt like shedding the shackles and starting afresh. The next morning, I was awoken by the gentle tapping of sea mist on my windscreen and sharp rays of sunlight twinkling through the window, living in my little home on wheels gave me all my freedom back.
My days consisted of alarms from the dawn chorus, followed by a brisk dip in the sea. I’d attempt to make porridge on my camp stove and then head off to work. Down time was filled with surfing, and evenings closed with beach bonfires and huddling among borrowed layers to fend off the cold sea air. This living is euphoric.
Being by the sea has always acted like a medicine for me. I’ve been transfixed by water and all the activities that involve being in, on, or under it. It is where I feel truly free. I have wanted to figure out why my mental health always improves when I’m in and amongst nature: I did some digging and learnt that being focussed on an activity in natural surroundings increases the neuroplasticity of the brain and triggers the release of serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins; creating what some have started to call a “blue mind”.
I think that freedom evokes different things for different people. For me it revolves around being stripped back to the basics: being outdoors, that feeling of saltwater crystallizing on my skin, finding seaweed in my hair, not wearing shoes, having sandy toes, watching burning sunsets and listening to the sounds of waves tumble onto the shore. I was lucky enough to have all these experiences in my little mobile home. I cannot recommend it enough: to trade in the routine for a wilderness that forever rewards us. It made me learn to love the little things in life and let go of the bigger stresses that beat us down. In a year of trials and tribulations, being a salty little nomad put a smile on my face.
Photo By Stephen Looser - @looser_not_loser