The greatest inspiration

On our Twitter the other day, I was marveling at the fact that we've been out sailing for almost one full year now and I have had time to read only five of the 80 books we have here onboard. To be completely honest with you now, neither Alex or me still feel that we have started this tour completely as yet, for many reasons, primarily because we have had our hands full with all kinds of other projects, job, writing, dealing with our two boats sales and purchase and so on.. We haven't yet had one full week where we have had our mind and our body in complete rest, which might sound odd thinking that we have had 12 months since we left our home in Barcelona, but that is the honest truth. Another reason is also that Caribbean was never on our primarily itinerary, we stopped here only because we kind of "had to" - we were completely worked out and tired from those hectic months of preparing our dear Caos for this journey and on top of that, the very tiring ocean passage made us pull the break and realize we "needed" to make a stop here before heading out into ocean number two. This stop was good for us in many ways of course and we are glad we stayed so that we could sort out all that needed to get sorted out, but still, it was never the plan and we look immensely forward to begin our real tour, if that makes any sense. 

So for those factors, for all of what that we have taken on our shoulders and committed to here and because we still do not feel completely settled in our own pace and preffered route and routines of this journey, I haven't yet came to peace to read too much. I have started on several books, read 20-30 pages, put that one aside and then back to the work that has been more important only to forget that I had started on something. It may seem to you that we are only here enjoying life and cruising in peace from one place to another, but there are so many details that constantly has to get fixed with that the reading has been left in the shadow. And as much as we love Caribbean for many reasons (and also dislike for some), I cannot tell you how much we both look forward to get out of here to begin our journey, the journey which hopefully will mean more peace of mind, more time to reflect, more time to read and write about those things I truly wish to be reading and writing about, more time for Alex to begin his "real" projects and we simply look forward to become even more open for mental and physical exploration of all what this journey originally was created and planned for.

One book that I have on the side of our bed that I pick up from time to time, reading another chapter from when in need of mental stimulation, particularly now when living so close to the nature, is a book that I have been reading a couple of times already in my life. It is a book that over and over manages to inspire me and move me profoundly, no matter how many times I've read those phrases before. There's something new to discover, new details to analyze and the meaning of all things natural rhymes well with my current way of living. Peter Camenzind is a novel written by 1946 years Nobel price winner in Literature, Hermann Hesse. A writer whose thoughts and nuanced writings still feels modern and compelling and who have had the talent to write in such timeless ways about life, spirituality, wanderlust, nature and love that he moves even the most inexperienced reader of his prose, spiritually.

Peter Camenzind was Hesse's breakthrough as a writer, his first novel that was published in 1904, and it became very popular throughout Germany where he lived at that time. Sigmund Freud even praised the novel as one of his favorite readings of all times and I have no hard to understand that as of the sense of spiritual meaning of which the novel is based upon. This novel is a somewhat autobiographical story of a young man from the Alps, trying to find his way in the world through love, friendships, family relations, always connected to the beautiful nature which he describes with absolute excellence.

Hesse has written many top notch novels and books that has served as great inspiration and I have often referred to his thoughts when wanted to describe some things with simplicity. There might be moments where I haven't agreed nor understood the exact meaning of his thoughts, but overall, what I mostly adore with the lyrics of Hesse is that you can feel that the man has underwent many stages of physical, intellectual and spiritual journeys in his life, there are those constant paradoxes, wonderings and the never-ending search in life and inside of the human mind that I most certainly can empathize with and almost always when I read his prose I feel some sort of connection with the writer.

A favorite quote from the mind of this man, from another great novel of his, Demian from 1919.

Here's the link to the the novel about Peter Camenzind, and here's Demian, both from Book Depository, my preferred book shop online, which always offer free delivery world wide and you'll have your books in no time- plus they have an absolutely impressive collection of all books you can imagine. Here you can get Peter Camenzind on Amazon, if you prefer to use their service, and here's Demian as well on Amazon.

I could also recommend the Glass bead Game (although that is a very heavy one which I myself haven't had the time and peace to completely finish as yet) here on Amazon, or this another very moving story, Steppenwolf, here on Amazon.

Which ones are your favorite authors?