My Perfect Life

I would live on a decent sized Island far far away from civilization where the temperature is always hovering around 21 degrees Celsius. On my perfect Island would be a mountain on one end and beaches on the other. The mountain would be tall enough for it to regularly have snow and melt off water running down the terrain. Like Ireland this island has no snakes. Being an island that was never colonized and largely ignored by the world as a whole: there are no rodents nor remnants of invasive species which have permanently moved in with us humans.

At the beaches there would be sea turtles who come up and visit from time to time. There would be a forrest on this island as well as plenty of plant life. Enough pine and cedar trees to make a log cabin as well as enough flowers to make exquisite teas. Simple and nice enough fruit plants like blueberries, apple and mango trees would be more than enough to suffice. There would be some deer, wild boar and plenty of fish to catch. You can make clothing from the pelts of the animals you catch.

There would be plants like Citronella very common on this island. This plant naturally keeps mosquitoes and other bugs away: and the Citronella oils which can be easily made will come in very handy and smell lovely. Somewhere on the mountain of this island is a cave which you can take shelter in when severe storms come. There are several fresh water springs on this island. You can make salt from the sea water surrounding the island so can cure the meats you catch and make them last a long time by turning them into jerky.

The cave on the mountain that you take refuge in when storms comes is fairly large and has a deep cold spot. It takes a bit of time to hike up there: but it is cold enough to be able to store salted meats and other foods for months on end. The island is small enough to be cozy but large enough to have its mysteries. Sometimes you feel adventurous and decide to climb the mountain on the one side. As you climb the mountain: mushrooms which grow at higher elevations can be found growing near the streams of melt-run off water. At the peak of this mountain you can see for miles out into the warm light blue sea with its dark and bold sky stretching onwards forever.

Some days you feel extra lazy and decide to go hang out on one of the beaches where you crafted a nice little fishing cabin. There is a view of the ocean from the cut out window inside the cabin. Even though it never really gets all that hot: the laziness gets to you at times. Going for a swim and checking on your fish traps which you constructed with some cedar branches is a joy that never gets old. Retreating from the beach swim to go rest in the cabin is a treat that refreshes your senses and eases the flow of thought.

There are more than therapeutic resources the Island has to offer. Native healing plants which can treat pain and alleviate diseases are found here. Things like Aloe Vera plants can be found with ease on the hills of the swampy part of the forest on the East side. To your surprise there are some wild spices and herbs which grow here. Wild garlic is found commonly among the grassy open parts of the forest floor and you have even managed to find some ginger. You are sure there are other spices here which you have not identified: and you often think if you should take a risk and try one of them.

You will inevitably have to hunt for meats on land: yet the quantity of fish which swim from the surrounding oceans guarantees that your fish traps will usually have one or two large fish in it every day. It may not always be the nicest or tastiest of fish: but luckily there are enough fruit trees on the island that you can smoke your meats with ease. Eventually you discover native rabbit-like animals that you catch and start to farm.

Eventually you discover that there are smaller, tinier islands which surround the main island. You can reach them with ease on a raft. There are a few of these smaller islands and other unique rabbit-like animals you have never encountered before. They are diverse and tasty. You are able have a nice little homestead where you are able to make everything by hand and live off the land. There is no running around with deadlines: there is no chase for progress or results. Just the works of man and nature in which there is no one to command.

There are small caves that permeate the islands. Some of them can be quite cold and make for nice smaller cold rooms for storing food. One of them appears to have strange art. As you examine it, you come to realize it is a painting of a map of the Islands. There are several smaller islands around the main one which are painted on the wall which you don’t see when you go rafting around. Some of these Islands have strange symbols and stars on them.

You spend some of your spare time looking for these lost Islands; your mind filling with questions. You take your raft over to where one of the smaller Islands was painted on the map. You jump off the raft and swim down and search the area. You see something shiny, so you grab it and swim up to your raft. As you clean the object off: it appears to be some kind of crystal carving of a man holding up a small child up. Your desire to cave dive everywhere you can around the Island has peaked.

-fin