What is that song by Christopher Cross? Sailing. “Sailing takes me away…”
Well, sailing really does take some people away. Like good old Alex.
You see, in 1709, Alexander Selkirk returned to the civilized world. He was a half-starved, sunburned Scottish sailor who stepped back into human society after four years alone on a deserted island in the Pacific.
Yes, Alexander Selkirk. His story is one of survival, solitude, and a very sketchy line between courage and catastrophe.
Selkirk was not shipwrecked by accident. He was marooned by choice. While sailing aboard a privateering vessel, Selkirk argued fiercely with his captain. He insisted the ship was unseaworthy.
Their tempers flared. Ultimatums were issued. And in a moment of defiance, and perhaps poor judgment, Selkirk demanded to be put ashore on the uninhabited Juan Fernández Islands. He was convinced another ship would come along soon.
It did not.
What followed were four years of isolation that tested the limits of the human spirit. Selkirk survived by hunting goats, foraging for roots, and fashioning tools from whatever the island offered. He built shelters. He learned the terrain. He talked to himself. He read the Bible repeatedly to keep his mind intact. At night, rats gnawed at him until he trained feral cats to protect his sleep. What a guy.
But loneliness was the real enemy. He needed a Wilson. Willllllsoonnnnnn.
When Selkirk was finally rescued in 1709, he could barely speak at first. Civilization felt foreign. His voice had grown unused. Yet he had survived something most humans never will. And that was extended, absolute solitude.
His story traveled. And a lot of writers were interested in that story. So. Years later, Daniel Defoe transformed Selkirk’s ordeal into fiction, giving the world Robinson Crusoe. Yep. Robinson Crusoe. We all know that epic tale of shipwreck and survival.
This entire ordeal reminds us that humans are remarkably adaptable. But for the most part, we were meant to be in the company of others. We are not meant to be alone forever. We can endure isolation. We can learn from it. Connection, conversation, and community truly matter. For some more than others. They need this rescue.
No matter how strong we are, we need to share our lives with others. We need to give and receive in this world. Our love and our companionship.
And maybe that is the good lesson buried in this day in history. On that empty island.
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“Man is by nature a social animal.”— Aristotle
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“The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me.”— Blaise Pascal
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“Solitude is fine but you need someone to tell that solitude is fine.”— Honoré de Balzac
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