flying free
I’ve been reading a lot over this Easter break about location-independent businesses. (As the name suggests, it’s a way of building up a business you can conduct from anywhere in the world.)
One of the many people who do this is a young guy called Ev Bogue. He travels from place to place, making a good living out of selling e-books. His way of life throws up many questions for me, among them how would I maintain friendships while travelling, could I really live out of a backpack (books and art supplies are heavy!), and if I was of no fixed abode, where would the tax people send their correspondence to. Actually that last one might be a big advantage, no?
Ev talks about a time when he was living in a Mexican hotel, where all his food and housekeeping needs were taken care of by others. This really made me think:
- If we had no permanent home to come back to, what would that feel like?
- If I had absolutely no chores to do, what would I do with that freedom?
Think about the last time you went on holiday. Unless you were in a self-catering apartment or similar, most likely you were in this situation. Meals provided, housework done, all that was necessary was to (in my case) stroll around the city, visiting museums and galleries, people-watching, absorbing the smells, sights and sounds. Perhaps you prefer beaches or countryside. Whatever.
My question is: could you live like that permanently?
After all, even if/when we retire, we’re likely living in one place and our lives include activities like cooking, cleaning, gardening. Some of us find those activities profoundly creative at best, but they are time-consuming.
Most of us live more or less permanently in some kind of home where we gather our treasures around us.
What if all you had to do was get up, get yourself clean, get dressed and go? Go where? Do what? Does the idea frighten you or exhilarate you? What would you do with the freedom?
photo credit: tony fischer photography
It’s both attractive and scary. I like to have a place to call home, to have family and friends around me, to be close to my Bahá’í community and those whom I respect, value (and, I hope, respect and value me).
However, bits of me twinge with the desire to move, to travel and to see parts of the world before I’m too old to travel.
As I get older I think more and more about the final journey that we take – that’s a journey on which we can take only the virtues and qualities we’ve developed in this life. Our goods and chattels go to others!
Barney, what a great comment about that final journey. Reminds me of those ancient burials where kings and queens had all kinds of treasures buried with them. Didn’t do them a bit of good!
I think maybe I could live out of a suitcase/backpack (assuming an a$$ured, steady $ource of income), but then again, the thought of having my own little burrow to hole up in is very appealing. Sometimes I think I have the perfect temperament to be a hermit (or a space explorer — living in a small space, never going outside). Living “self contained” is very comforting to me, and living solitary doesn’t bother me a bit. (I actually prefer to live alone.) Now, the idea of combining the two, like a hermit crab, would be very appealing — taking my “home” with me where ever I went. A lady whose blog I follow (The Hermitage) once lived in a fitted out horse van. Now that there are such things as ebooks and ereaders, and wifi, yeah, I could live like that, I think. People used to live with a lot fewer things, fewer clothes, less furniture, fewer possessions, a “load it all onto a wagon and move on” kind of life. The idea of having others take care of my needs appeals — if they would cook the food I like — and I wouldn’t mind foregoing the housework (who wouldn’t!). The idea of traveling at will and being able to go where I wanted to — again, I’d have to have an assured source of income — but yeah, I’d go for that.
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I love that interpretation of a space explorer. Yes, I also read The Hermitage, and was intrigued by Rima’s hermit crab journey.
I once lived for 6 weeks in a row in hotels. The food was great, the lack of housework was great but after 6 weeks I just wanted a room I could call my own and food I had cooked for myself. Suitcases just don’t cut it if you ask me. And it was very boring! Nothing to do in the evenings and knowing no one in town was a bit too hermit like for me. Books will only take you so far and music wasn’t an option at that time. (pre-ipod, laptop). It just felt too impersonal.
viv in nz
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Hi Viv – yes I suspect that’s how I might feel. Like the new blog by the way.
New blogspot to try out. This is my personal blog.
viv
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I wouldn’t like it. I need a place of my own. A nest where I can be at peace and feel secure and where I can recharge my internal batteries.
I will leave the wanderlust to the wanderers.
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Love your description of the nest.
The thought exhilarates me (although it’s funny because my first question was also one of yours – but how would I carry around my books and art supplies?)
Although I do not think I would like to live this way for a long time. It would probably become tedious very quickly.
Having a dual option of course would be the absolute ultimate – a home base sitting waiting for you to get back, you taking off whenever the fancy takes you. That would be fantastic
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Yes, best of both worlds would indeed be fantastic!
I am thinking of the Buddhist saying, “before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water, after enlightenment, chop wood and carry water”. I think our souls need us to – as Gandhi said – “be mindful of the sources of our well-being”….which in his ashrams meant that everybody cleaned toilets, everybody chopped wood. And whilst I am here quoting this and that, I love the words of Kahlil Gibran from The Prophet, “true freedom is rising naked and unbound above that which binds you”.
I feel at my most free when I am in my caravan, on the road with Beloveds, with fires to be lit, food to be cooked AND a sense of adventure, for me this is the perfect combination!
kate, thanks so much for the Gibran quote – beautiful. I rather like the idea of a caravan as well.
Thanks, Tess, for your full-of-hope, Pilgrim’s Moon journey here. There is that great expression, that greatest of all adventures — in Zen, the entrance to the most profound of all mysteries: “Have a cup of tea.”
Tea can indeed be profound!
I’m a nester ~ I love my home, my refuge … the place where I come to renew and reinvigorate myself. I’ve never been a good traveler, because I enjoy washing dishes, making my bed, tidying up ~ gives me a sense of calm and delight. Now, in my 60s, I have very few “things” ~ just enough to keep me comfortable. Continuing each day, learning how to be still, how to love, how to surrender … that’s my journey.
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Thanks Patricia and welcome to my blog. I’ve just been exploring yours and am so pleased to connect.
I’m happiest with a hearth to tend and some dirt to dig in, myself. I think I feel freer to set out on adventures when I have a solid home base, too. I’m in the midst of finding a new place to live at the moment – with the freedom to go where I please – and it’s a bit disconcerting. To say the least!
I have a fondness for hearths myself!
i have read some of those books too, and what a lifestyle it would be to pull off
global nomading in a gypsy wagon, canal boat or other small moveable house, is a dream that holds so much romance, because it allows us to keep the ‘nest’ part and combine it with travel, it is a dream of ours to do it at some stage
part of what I love about the couple of ‘real’ holidays I’ve had in my life (with the luxury of hotel stays and food/cleaning/washing cared for by staff) is that its such a treat to be ‘cared for’, since much of that type of stuff is generally women’s work, so in my experience, that felt more like a holiday to me than to my partner
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That’s a really good point Kel, about women relishing being ‘cared for’.
What if all you had to do was get up, get yourself clean, get dressed and go?
You have just described walking the Camino. In 2005, we walked from Le Puy (in Central France) to Santiago de Compostela (Western Spain) in 68 days. This meant that we changed bed every night, never quite knew where we would find a meal, how our bunk beds would be, etc.
This was the longest walk we took. This year we may be walking for 40+ days (if my body holds up).
It always is a very freeing experience. You learn to live with very little and realize that one needs really little to be happy.
True, a steady source of income is quite important.
In some strange way, it is the closest I have felt to the homeless men and women I have known. That first coffee is really important!
Whether I would be able to live this way for a long time? I find this very tempting — until I can’t walk and then it’s not so much fun any longer
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Yes claire, I thought of your Santiago way experiences while writing this. (I recently watched The Way starring Martin Sheen – wonderful). I think it’s a little different though from what I’m describing because along with the freedom, there’s a pre-set purpose to each day.
Yes, true. Still…
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