No Position, No Time

 

Miles from Nowhere

Think I’ll take my time

To get there

To get there

– Cat Stevens

No Position, No Time

By Anke Wagner

Friends gave us our VHF base station radio. This was something we always eventually wanted but never got around to buying. The little bit of radio communication we were willing to engage in could easily be covered by our hand-held.

After mounting the antenna, installing the radio and hooking everything up it was time to see if it worked.

We switched it on and on the screen appeared the statement:

NO POSITION

NO TIME

(No GPS, as a matter of fact, and therefore neither of the above.)

Wow, I thought, how perfect! That fits us to a T!!

And what a luxury and privilege it is to be able to live that way, at least in most stretches of our life so far. Not to have a position geographically, politically, religiously… you name it.

And time, being absolute our own, regardless of the numbers on the screen or arms of a clock, pointing accusingly at bygone minutes.

The yin side…

Keeping it simple, not in need of buying fuel, we can decide on the dry stretch of weather to bring in the needed wood for cooking and heating. Having a lot of dried goods, foraging and fishing allows us to stay in nooks and crannies, estuaries and secluded coves for months on end in blissful solitude! Until we feel the need for change.

But there is also a yang side to this…

Previous years and the last 2 winters we pulled into a small community, live in the harbor, house-sit where dogs, cats and critters need company, supervision and care and reach out with volunteer work.

A mutual need is met with friendships and social interaction, things get done, our input shows real-time results. We work for a greater good and receive it in return.

Experiencing first-hand that nobody is an island, on the one hand, but also feeling that all is temporary in the big and small picture.

We can give with a great amount of energy, patience and tolerance because we have this little back door always open…

No position.

No time.

Like a Zen koan, a blinking radio screen. All you have to do is untie…

…and with that option you find the reason why you’re doing what you are doing.