Life-Changing Lessons Learned

Taking a moment to reflect, we have found life-changing lessons can be learned every day living here in on this little rock. Invariably, one of us says “well, I learned something new today”.

Whether positive or negative, life is full of daily experiences that change us and affect us. Living in the tropics has taught us many valuable lessons that we certainly would not have learned living in the great white north. And yes, just in case anyone is interested, we are about to share our new found wisdom...

We have learned that we can have quiet time. Sitting at our laptop or sitting reading a book, while our partner is doing the same, and not saying a word to each other for hours on end can be amazing... especially when you are not angry with each other. You just look up from time to time and smile. Peaceful. You don't need to keep the conversation going because you are both enjoying your own small bit of enlightenment, perhaps with your feet in the sand. Comfortable and happy. Not that we are judging anyone but we have heard that people who have the ability to remain quiet (and in some semblance of self-control to keep squirming and arm waving to a minimum) in each others company are more intelligent, more reflective, more independent, more level-headed, more refined, more sensitive, and of course more humble than those who need to keep the conversation going. Yep, OK, we're good with that...

We have noticed that it is best to chose a seasonal selection of local foods and then have the flexibility to cook what you find. When we lived in Vancouver we were spoiled with every kind of meat, vegetable, bakery item, spice, canned or prepared foods you can imagine right at our fingertips. On an island where shipments don’t always arrive, it’s best to rely as much as possible on what’s locally available day to day. Sometimes we just do without, or meal preparation time becomes plan B (or plan C!). As a result, eating seasonally is so much more exciting. The flavours of fruits and vegetables from the local markets are more vibrant. Nothing beats picking fresh fruits off a tree and enjoying them in the shade of the fruit tree. You can really tell the difference in quality when you find fishes caught by local fishermen that day, and then add it to your meal the same day. Seasons change and so do the fruits and fishes that are available. When you drive around the island in June, stop on the side of the road and snag a fresh mango, wax apple, or local plum right off the tree. Delicious. Meals can sometimes be a bit "different" than the usual north american fare... fish fingers with local salad fixings (sans lettuce and tomatoes); Jan's home baked beans with cheese finger, baked butternut squash and deep fried plantain with pulled pork all-day stew...

We must admit that when we get the opportunity to touch a bit of paper that was previous in the hands of a family member or one of our friends, we stop to marvel at that for a moment. We don't get to do that often in this age of electronics and instant messages.

At first we didn't realize there were no mail carriers in our area of the island. In anticipation of getting mail, we diligently told our northern contacts to send it to our attention at our apartment building with the details of the roads, parish and country clearly spelled out, and hoped it would soon arrive. Seemed reasonable.. right? Wrong. Mail arriving must have a box number indicated otherwise it will get put into a spinning black hole where retrieval is nothing short of a miracle. So, even though we have a suite number, it really makes no difference. The management of the apartment complex has to register a box number with the postal service. All mail, business and personal, for anyone in the complex, goes into the same PO Box and is picked up at the postal site and then distributed by staff at the apartment complex. This happens once a week. No PO Box number, no mail...even though your envelope might say the name of the complex and mail staff know where that is as they deal with it daily and can't possibly think to maybe put in with the stuff that has a box number for the same complex....

However, if your loved ones decide to send you registered mail or a parcel with a tracking number, it might be delivered to the main postal outlet in the capital city, or it might be rerouted to the local / nearby outlet. It depends. No real rules as no one knows why it's happening. It's something of a headache to figure it out. And, in these cases, your special mail is kept at the outlet while a small slip of green paper gets your name scrawled on it. That small slip of paper is then sent to your apartment complex along with all other weekly mail, with instructions saying you need to come and get your package. We can all hope that the green slip doesn't get lost. Once you have your slip of green paper, it doesn't necessarily mean your item will waiting for you. Several trips between the main postal outlet and the local outlet later, along with several prayers and a couple of shots of rum, you might be blessed with your package. Patience.

Electricity is overrated. The thought of being without power for hours or days at a time in the great white north probably was definitely much more than just an inconvenience... more of a critical necessity.

But here, power outages happen and we can say from experience that living without power for extended periods of time is not going to kill you. Yes, we are fully loaded with electronics: a couple of laptops, smart phones, Sony Walkman for music, portable boom box, Kobo for reading, etc... We are fully connected on the grid. So when the power goes out and our electronics leave us stranded without internet and “entertainment,” we turn to each other to sit and enjoy breathing to the sounds of rain, frogs, and birds. Yep – let's relax... and take a break from political headaches and tiresome sitcoms on TV... Talk. Go for a long walk. Take photos along the way. Without distractions. When is the last time you did that with any regularity? It’s a powerful reality check... and then you realize you miss your gadgets!

Yes, the Rolling Stones were absolutely right. “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.” I think they wrote that song while they were on the Island of Mustique right here in the Grenadine Islands.

Sometimes you go to the supermarket and there is no chicken, or bread, or butter, or milk, or tomatoes... Sometimes you just can’t find that part to fix that thing that just broke or the exact battery you need for you bathroom scale. You can’t always find what you want but, when you shop around, wait a while, or change your approach, you just might be able to find the things you need. You become more creative, and open new doors in the way you handle your projects, and perhaps create new approaches to your favourite recipes. For most things, when you find they are not available, it usually boils down to the simple notion that you can do without it. And, once you have been enjoying island life for a while, it becomes clear fairly quickly that the absolute must-have things are a very short list (for example: we must have a place to sleep at night....). We’ve adjusted our thinking to know that we might not find what we want, but then we realize that we really didn't need it anyway. Very liberating.

“Island Time” is a real thing. Everything happens slowly. Embrace it. When the sun rises, a new day begins and when it sets, you can't do anything more. When it rains, everything stops. There's always tomorrow. It’s as simple as that. Change your life. Nobody regrets the time they’ve spent enjoying life, time they’ve spent connecting with loved ones and new friends, or time they’ve spent unhurried and unburdened. Learn to disconnect in order to reconnect, and understand needs versus wants. The world is going to keep spinning, so enjoy the free ride. We're enjoying the ride on our beach chairs facing the Caribbean sea. Best thing we ever did.