What does it mean to have freedom of movement?

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Writer: Anki Palerby Hjelmqwist

Freedom can be many things. For some, it's the ability to travel anywhere, anytime - a ticket in hand, a new horizon in sight and above all: a new adventure. For others, freedom is more subtle, more of an inner yearning: a sense of being able to choose their own pace, their own paths and their own breathing space.

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And maybe that's what travelling is all about - seeking out those places, external or internal, where we replenish our energy reserves. Those places that make us breathe deeper, feel more alive - and sometimes even more at home than we ever felt in the place we actually call home.

Water as a sanctuary

I realised for the first time the power of nature, and especially water, during a chaotic period in my life. When everything around me was storming, when everyday life felt too crowded, I got in my car and drove. Without a destination, but with a feeling that somewhere I would land. Almost always I ended up by the water.

There, alone on a jetty or on a bench by a bay, I found something I couldn't find anywhere else. I could lie on my back and watch the clouds slowly sail by, listen to the clattering against the jetty, or just let my eyes linger on the glitter of the sun in the waves. Those moments gave me a kind of respite that nothing else could provide. As if the water washed away the worst of my worries, and filled me with the energy I needed to return home and face life again.

The sea as home

A few years later, the sea became even more than a refuge - it became a home. I discovered long-distance sailing: a form of travelling where the journey itself is the goal, where the boat becomes the means of transport, home and security.

With a captain by my side, in a relationship built on trust instead of chaos, I found a new kind of freedom. After just a few days at sea, time ceased to matter. Days of the week and dates melted away, leaving only the rhythm of wind, waves and light.

Here, nature is in charge. The wind determines when we can sail on, the weather sometimes forces us to wait - days, even weeks. But that waiting is not a limitation, but part of the freedom. A reminder that life doesn't always have to be governed by clocks and schedules. And sometimes it's the luxury of the small - to be able to say: "Let's go into this bay instead."

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A treat for the soul

It's hard to describe the feeling of dropping anchor in a quiet bay. Just us, the boat and nature. A few days where the sun is our watch and the sea our shower. Two steps from the breakfast table in the cockpit and we can throw ourselves into the clear blue.

The most intrusive? A discreet ping on the mobile phone every night, reminiscent of watering the basil on the deck.

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And then, the contrast: to steer, after the silence of solitude, towards new ports where friends await. Sharing laughter, meals and memories. Freedom lies as much in the change as in the journey itself - between silence and community, between silence and voices, between the personal and the shared.

The many faces of freedom

But freedom in travelling looks different for each of us. Some of my friends find their energy in the mountains, on long walks among cairns and mountain streams. Others in a canoe, in the forest, in a camper van or on horseback. Some feel freest on a dog walk at dawn, others in front of the fire with a book.

Freedom can be stillness. It can be movement. It can be solitude or community.

The journey as a meeting

For me, the most important thing is meeting people. Sharing a conversation that goes deep, listening and opening up to what is different, both what challenges and what unites.

Because in the end, perhaps freedom is not just being able to travel - but daring to face the world, other people and yourself, with open eyes and an open heart.

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Anki Palerby Hjelmqwist

Anki is a freelance writer, author and digital life coach who loves travelling. She has lived in various countries, such as Lebanon, Poland, Egypt and Morocco, and later in life became a full-time long-distance sailor (despite her recurring seasickness!), after meeting her husband Janne. With their boat Lazy Frog, they have sailed from Sweden down the Atlantic coast, across to the Canary Islands and Madeira, and are currently in the Mediterranean, in Sicily. Join her on her adventures, both on land and at sea!

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