Longtime readers know that Linda and I sold our dream house in Florida eight years ago to pursue a new dream of living more lightly. And I am very happy to report that dream has reached its fulfillment in the form of our upcoming move to a lighthouse keeper’s cottage! You read that right: in a couple of months we are moving to the quintessential Maine lighthouse (pictured above) at Marshall Point in Port Clyde.

As I shared in an earlier post about our minimalist journey there is a moving quote attributed to Mark Twain posted at the Lake Dora lighthouse in Mount Dora, Florida. It is there we began this journey after selling our dream house that we custom built twenty years ago at this time and the quote reads: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Family members and close friends also know that the decorative theme at our beloved Lakewood Cottage consisted of ships, lighthouses, and other nautical memorabilia. And throughout our journey to this point, we have gravitated to coastal living, so it is all the more meaningful that we are landing at such a fitting manifestation of our maritime dreams. In the words of author Seamus Heaney, “Believe that a further shore…is reachable from here.”

Suffice it to say that our journey from there to here was made doable by our decision to live with less stuff. The keeper’s cottage is unfurnished, so we are gradually getting the necessary accoutrements for housekeeping after all these years of leasing furnished places. We do plan to maintain our overall minimalist aesthetic but we had to buy a bed for us and a sleeper sofa for all of our visiting friends!

Amidst our upcoming move, I have been thinking lately about how the places we inhabit seem to fit the personalities we exhibit. For example, the coast of Maine is ideally suited to someone like me who is comfortable with his own company. Lighthouses are isolated by design and the people who live at them must enjoy simple pleasures like reading a good book and love the life of the interior generally speaking. So, it is with fondness that I look forward to our special adventure by the sea. And I encourage you to reach for your dream, whatever it may be!