I missed posting last Friday, I’m happy to say because I was sailing aboard the Schooner Zodiac in a part of the world I’ve wanted to visit for at least 20 years.

I had been feeling stuck, sucked into the daily rhythms of life and work to the point that I had started to bore myself. I needed not just a getaway, but an adventure. Suddenly  I had what I call an epiphany of the obvious.

“What’s your problem?” I asked myself. “You used to write travel stories. You currently write restaurants reviews. Figure out where you want to go and get an assignment.”

A week later I was on my way to help sail a 1924 160′ wooden tall ship through the San Juan Islands, despite a complete lack of sailing know-how or experience.

I got just the reset I needed. But I came away with so much more. After just four days of hoisting sails, sweating the line (known as a rope to a landlubber like me), manning the helm, looking out for water hazards and crab pots on bow watch and scaring myself not just once but twice when I had to scoot on my belly over the ship’s bow and onto the bowsprit to help furl (roll up) the jib, I was able to view my  life with startling clarity. I could see the parts that work along with changes long overdue. The answers that had seemed so elusive suddenly seemed so simple.

I tell my writing coach clients that they need to step away from their projects in order to regain perspective. Who knew that the fresh eyes we need for our creative endeavors are just as critical on the personal front.

– By Linden Gross