The following quotation from Albert Einstein has been integral to our family philosophy since our days living aboard S/V WaterBrother:
“My passionate interest in social justice and social responsibility has always stood in curious contrast to a marked lack of desire for direct association with men and women. I am a horse for single harness, not cut out for tandem or team work. I have never belonged wholeheartedly to country or state, to my circle of friends, or even to my own family. These ties have always been accompanied by a vague aloofness, and the wish to withdraw into myself increases with the years.
“Such isolation is sometimes bitter, but I do not regret being cut off from the understanding and sympathy of other men. I lose something by it, to be sure, but I am compensated for it in being rendered independent of the customs, opinions, and prejudices of others, and am not tempted to rest my peace of mind upon such shifting foundations.”
The quotation is from a 1000-word, 1931 essay The World as I See It which isn’t a bad read in it’s entirety.
When we lived aboard, the quote was mounted on a bulkhead in a small acrylic frame. Now it’s on a wall in our forest home, but it’s still in the same acrylic frame. I think Albert would appreciate that, too.
