Spontaneity and Sailing Around the World

Yesterday, as I was writing about how I want to live in alignment with my core values, I got hung up on the idea of spontaneity.

I recognized that I don’t really like it beyond being able to respond in the moment.

That is one of my strengths. I typically rise to the occasion when under pressure and think well on my feet.

But being spontaneous throughout the day?

Nope, and I am not even sure I want to be.

Therefore, I did a little internet surfing to explore the topic.

Spontaneity is meant to be different than impulsiveness.

Spontaneity happens when you are living in the present moment, can “go with the flow,” and your reaction is driven by real, authentic feelings and impulses.

Impulsiveness is the shadow side of spontaneity.

It implies that you are reacting from emotional stress, recklessness, a lack of self-control, and without considering negative consequences.

I gave two examples yesterday that fall more on the impulsiveness rather than the spontaneous side of the continuum.

Take my desire to buy sweets and breaking my one-time-per-week goal.

I did consider the consequences and decided I could live with them.

I suppose I was under a bit of emotional stress, and it demonstrated a lack of self-control.

But I was also living in the present moment (you’re at the grocery store, the goodies are here, and they’re affordable)

I was going with the flow (why do I have this goal anyway? Target weight is fine, I eat healthy otherwise, and hey, I have been avoiding alcohol …go with the flow, dude, live a little).

And, I authentically love donuts, cookies, cake, pie, and some types of candy … just not too many or too much.

So…yeah, what is this really?

Is it impulsive because I “broke” my self-imposed rule?

Is it impulsive because I was “emotionally” triggered by my desire to eat something sweet for enjoyment and as a way of soothing my boredom?

I suppose it is.

Okay, it was more on the impulsive side of the continuum.

I can live with that label. Sue me.

But my bigger question is, how do you behave spontaneously and not fall into the impulsiveness trap?

I did a search asking for examples of people who lived spontaneous lives.

Four people were brought up.

Alan Watts.

Yes, he was “loose,” but he also drank every day and died of alcoholism at the age of 58.

Richard Branson.

He spontaneously pursues business opportunities for fun.

Evidently it seems He was perhaps a regular visitor to Epstein’s Island. Oops.

Miles Davis.

He stressed spontaneous playing, asking his band members not to rehearse too much so as to capture the raw expression.

He was also one of the most uptight, mean, and controlling musicians ever. People love his music but hated his behavior.

Henry David Thoreau.

He radically simplified his life so that he could live deliberately outside of society’s timeline and expectations.

Ah, now we’re getting somewhere.

Thoreau is the least problematic of the four examples given.

Look, I am not trying to take anything away from the brilliance of the other three.

But perhaps they were only spontaneous when playing within their “field” and not throughout their whole lives?

Again, I am not here to judge, just trying to understand the differences.

Thoreau opted out of society’s measures of success.

Perhaps that’s a key difference?

I am not sure.

But he didn’t spontaneously decide to go live in a cabin in the woods as simply as he could.

It was a plan he had worked up well beforehand.

He had to make arrangements With Emerson to live on the land. He had to buy supplies to build his cabin.

He had things to do.

and, Thoreau stayed on Walden Pond a little over 2 years and 2 months.

He didn’t spontaneiously throw in the towel on Day five or six.

In earlier articles I brought up the book Brave or Stupid.

This is the story of two Swedes who gave themselves eight years to sail around the world.

They spent the first five years buying a boat and learning how to sail.

Then they spent three years circumnavigating the world on a carefully pre-planned route.

Spontaneous?

I’m going to say no.

That got me thinking about Brian Trautman and the S/V Delos YouTube show, which was a bit of an inspiration for this blog.

Evidently, he finished his personal circumnavigation in 14 years, from 2008 to 2022.

Then, in 2025, he and his wife completed the full circumnavigation when they joined up with each other and set out from Australia.

That took them a total of 15 years, according to Google Gemini.

Okay, now we might be getting to a closer version of spontaneous.

If the Brave or Stupid crew did it in three years, then surely S/V Delos took some spontaneous turns along the way.

The other difference is they live in the Boat as a lifestyle choice. The two Swedes were on an “extended Leave of absence” to circumnavigate the world.

That difference matters a lot in terms of the amount of time they took to complete the mission.

However, here is where I end up with this idea.

I think spontaneity is fine and useful, in the moment, but probably best if used as a guide in doing what you care about.

For example, I love to use it as a way to write songs and even write these blog articles. I care about both.

What these two sailing examples share is that they had an Adventurous mission that drove them to take the actions they did.

These individuals were all on adventures.

Thus, I think Adventure is the More important value for myself.

It supersedes the value of Play, which is where Spontaneity is typically found.

You can take an adventure spontaneously, but I am not so sure that is the best way to go.

That could Easily lead to impulsivity and other unintended and unwanted outcomes.

In a way, I am being spontaneous with the study of dreams this year.

But my interest started a long time ago. It was not completely “spontaneous.”

In the mid to late 2000s, I was seeing a Jungian therapist as I was dealing with an identity crisis after getting divorced.

He required me to send him my weekly dreams before each session.

That Helped me see the value of dreams.

Then, in the early to mid-2010s, I began going to a dream circle led by Dr. Stanley Krippner,

and that was when my interest in dreams really began to take hold.

What I am doing now is only spontaneous in the sense that I am pushing myself to make the leap into an adventure.

I did this by signing up for and going to the annual IASD conference in June.

and now, I am doing it by applying for the year-long class that just started.

Where did this investigation lead me?

Did I resolve the tension for myself by digging into the topic of Spontaneity?

Not really.

One insight that seems very important is that I purposively avoid being Spontaneous.

I am less spontaneous likely because I know that I can easily fall into impulsiveness when I act “spontaneously.”

And that is something I want to avoid.

However, I will continue to meditate and observe when and how I might be more spontaneous.