Being Alone With Nature

Paul Heiney

If I told you being alone can make me hap?py，might you raise an eyebrow？

A couple of years back I sailed my boat to Cape Hom and back，a round trip of 18，000 miles，and for 12，000 of them I was as alone on this planet as it is possible to be.Land was more than 1，000 miles away.And I was very happy to be there.Not all of the time — there^，s not much happiness when the wind blows and the seas tumble across your boat.

But when the ocean gives you a break from storm and tempest，I find a more funda?mental kind of happiness than any on land.

One night，in one of the calms in the infa?mous doldrums，the stars came out，and sudden?ly they were perfectly reflected in the sea - I was floating among the stars！

Other sailors have written that such experi?ences reinforce their insignificance amid the vastness of the universe.But in that moment I felt at the very centre of the universe.

And then back in the embrace of loved ones when the journey's over，I can tell them this tale and，I hope，make them happy in turn.

如果我告訴你，独处可以使我快乐，你会不会感到惊讶呢？

许多年前，我撑船来回了一趟合恩角，全程18000米，其中的12000米我是独自一人度过的。陆地在离我1000米以外的地方，那种感觉就好像世界上就只有我一个人了。我那时很高兴，但不是所有的时间都是高兴的——天刮着大风、海浪把你的船打翻的时候你也不会高兴到哪里去。

但当大海平静下来，让我在暴风雨中喘口气的时候，我感到了一种强烈的快乐，那是在陆地上从未有过的。

一天夜晚，我正身处一片无人问津的海域。这时，星星出来了，一下子倒映在平静的海面上，而我似乎就漂浮在漫天星光之中！

一些在海上航行过的人在书中描写过类似的经历，这样的体验让他们愈发觉得自己在这浩瀚的宇宙中是多么渺小。然而，我当时却感觉自己是宇宙的中心。

旅途结束之后，我回到所爱的人身边，我会把这个故事告诉他们，我希望他们也能感受到我的快乐。