I’ll tell you what has been making Jack and I happy these past few weeks. It’s a little mind trick. I’ll share it. First, you pick a trait you don’t like about yourself. Something you have or you carry around like a trauma. Now, imagine yourself without it anymore. Imagine who you would be.

That’s it. I know – it ends quickly. If you are like me, you were waiting for some sort of punch line. But that’s all you do. Imagine yourself without this thing you don’t like about yourself – gone. How would you feel?

Jack gets a daily meditation email and this was one of them. To be honest, I read these emails when he shows them to me, but I don’t remember them. This one though. This one stuck.

I really liked this person I saw. Not even like it’s the ‘best’ version. I don’t really care for the ‘best version’ or ‘best life’ rhetoric. That stuff never lasts for me. I just liked getting rid of the weight of trauma. Imagining myself without it made me feel young again – light and hopeful. And I know this this probably some sort of baseline CBT therapy. And I like it. I like it a lot.

Meanwhile, we had a visit from the customs boat on Sunday. Us and the boat next door. This is not surprising. There are a line of us who have been in the mooring field for a long time now. The pandemic has thrown many sailors’ plans askew – and if you were lucky enough to find a safe and welcoming country like Bonaire, then you could stay. That’s been our model anyway.

The customs boat asked us why we were still here. Uh-oh. We told them we were waiting to leave – and had put in a request to stay longer when our visas ran out some three months ago. They wanted to see the email I’d written. I showed them, and they seemed happy with that. Still, it was a sign things are going back to normal, or at least trying to in Bonaire. Rules are rules again. I don’t mind it. We are hoping we don’t get a big fine upon clearing out – but it feels like that’ll be out of our hands. Some boats have been lucky, others not so much.

The guy next door to us, he was told he needs to shoo too. Unfortunately for him, he wants to stay here, to live here. I get it. Bonaire isn’t for everybody being small and quiet and ‘everyone knows everyone’. But for some, that’s exactly what makes it so special. Add the natural beauty of the island above and under the sea and it’s a no-brainer. We’d stay too if conditions were right. But we can come back. We hope!