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Day 30 of Life 2 the Limit

Life 2 the Limit draws to a close as Saul and Joe leave the tropical island that’s been home for the last 30 days.
 

And so, it’s over. After landing on this remote island in South East Asia 30 days ago, with only what they could fit into their five-litre dry bags, Joe and Saul said goodbye to their tropical beach home and started their journey towards their normal lives.

‘Normal’, however, probably won’t be what it was. Both men have reached a kind of peace as they’ve slowly settled into the rhythms of the tides and the moon, resonating with the natural currents of our Earth.
 

‘A sublime existence has set in,’ wrote Saul on Day 29. ‘I could flow into and through the world like this every day.’
 

It’s going to be difficult to maintain this sense of balance and bliss as the world crashes in on them, but now that they’ve tasted and touched this peace, let’s hope they can revisit it – and I’m envious of that.
 

This month-long challenge has also had different currents. It moved from being a survival adventure at the start, as the group packed their dry bags with knives, fishing lines and flints, to more of an endurance retreat. Ten very different people arrived on the island on Day 1; close to three weeks later, five had taken all they needed from the experience. Three more reached that point six days later, leaving Joe and Saul to the last five days on their own.
 

All 10 arrived not knowing what to expect nor how they would perform; all have left with lessons learnt and new pride in themselves.
 

Each one pressed a pause button in their lives – what a unique opportunity – and discovered some insights. Having experienced proper hunger and seen the trash that washed up on their beach every day, they all have a new understanding of waste and an appreciation for their lives.
 

‘If I had to use one word to try and capture what I am feeling, it is gratitude,’ wrote Joe on his last full day on the island. ‘Gratitude that I was able to come here, gratitude for the experience I have had and what I’ve learned, and gratitude in fact for my life itself, for such a thing is rare and precious!’
 

The rest of us, reading this website and observing the 10 islanders on their adventure, can also take away some lessons from them. And one is probably to shut down your computer and go out into nature… right after you’ve read Joe on his last island sunrise: ‘As the pink light of the coming day seeped into the sky on a soft underbelly of cloud, I was reminded not to waste a single moment of this life. Not only because it is fragile and might end at any time, but also because it is, quite simply, marvellous.’

 

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