Laurence, France

“It was a journey inward, nourished by the life of others, by doing and sharing very eclectic ways of life, by simply being there, not even seeking joy and beauty but finding it, as daily miracles, everywhere and in everyone. It was the experience of truly becoming through others, inhabiting a sea horizon together, sharing our discomfort and hopes with trust and love.

An experience of Inhabiting — feeling belonging

Sharing this common sea space as the common good it is, and with those to whom it rightfully belongs: the people, everyone, was a core experience to me. Inhabiting that space together, living on this Mediterranean sea that is ours, that unites us filled me with a profound sense of wholeness, a feeling of the absolute. I belonged there, just like everyone else here, like the sparrow flying by, the cetacean below, the scorpio constellation, the wood of the boat, the leaking seal, the following cargoes, the deep night or the chocolate spread.

An experience of Trust — creating space to be and to grow

Sailing was like growing: we were all learning new things and the crew trusted us enough with the boat to do incredible novelties, like navigating by night, understanding the tools, raising the sails, climbing the shrouds… Sailing is also metaphorically like growing: sometimes it shakes you, sometimes it is calm, sometimes you are in action, sometimes you are on watch, sometimes you wait, sometimes you rest. It is a cycle of maneuvers where everyone depends on the other and where we need to decide what heading to follow. Even if we are not always quite sure and certainly not doing it perfectly. And yet, we do it better and we grow at every stopover.

Having a space where we can speak freely or choose not to, knowing we will be accepted no matter what, is a rare and transformative experience – one that some of us never took the time or had even within our own families or communities.

Sharing with the crew, with the Med teams, and with the people we met in Sicily and Tunisia meant learning through others' lived experiences and through whatever their stories called up or stirred within us. People let us enter slowly in the complexity of their activities or blended identities to have a glance, to exchange a vision, a conviction, a theory, a song, a joke, a prayer, a word, a silence. This shared treasure is the kind of friendship that makes anyone bloom reciprocally.

An experience of Love — living intimacy and mystery

I rediscovered the vastness of my heart, its ability to receive and to give so much, when the conditions are right and in so many different kinds of relationships.

On one hand, the closeness of life on a boat naturally fosters intimacy. This journey was a moment ripe for both giving and receiving, a time that invited connection. We opened up to people with a peaceful mindset, at the right moment because of the right circumstances created.

This double movement of reception and giving – accepting both intimacy and mystery – was the experience of love that this journey allowed peacefully.

If we can become whoever we choose to be – if we are given the choice – then each of us holds the potential for dialogue, for connection, and for loving others beyond our differences.

To me, this journey was not a drop in the sea, at all – it was a freaking tsunami. I feel reborn, much more than any sacrament, rites or superstition. It concretely shook something deep within me – and shifts, forever, my sense of purpose and understanding of what it means to exercise peace with myself, others and the world. A treasure to be remembered and a true promise that we can inhabit already. »

Laurence