The story that Never Happened...
People keep sayin' things to me that makes me think, I haven't gotten what I'm doin' across as clearly as I'd like... or at least that there's a goodly number that are missin' some of my words.
What I keep hearing is "Now that You're RETIRED"... "How is RETIREMENT treating you?"... "That's how it is when you're RETIRED"... or some such variety of that sort of an Idea...
I think I've lost count of the number of times I've replied; "Nope I don't... 'cause I Ain't Retired!... I couldn't afford to be, even if I wanted to be... I'm just living and working.. Different."
The reason it's important to me is 'cause a part of what I'm about is to prove to folks that there IS an alternative to the daily grind; That a choice and proper way of living...Is Possible!
A way that I finally had the cajones to grab hold of... a way of life that for many, could be, Shining Times... as their chosen life... right from the cradle... and that don't have to be RV Boondocking Full Time... Those Shining Times, should be whatever YOU choose them to be... and ONLY... You.
If they think I'm retired, they won't be hearing what I'm tryin' to say... If they think I'm retired, the younger folks, looking forward and dreading the trail they see on Treadmill Hell... and are looking for an Alternative option to that... will look right past me...
... And Not see... that I'm Living... what I'm preaching... to just Go After It!
So... 'scuse me! Folks! Ahem! ... I'll make an announcement, one more time... Ahem! ... the fella that writes goin' RV Boondocking is NOT Retired! He's workin' and making a living... he's just in pursuit of a different direction... and Following that philosophical Different Drummer.
... and wishin' he'd done it this-a-way... and not let hisself get diverted from it... a long time ago!
Now... I've heard a lot of people talkin' 'bout how much you need to have set by, before you start off after a different life, whether that be RV Boondocking... or some other chosen trail...
For those talking, I'm sure it's true... but it don't make it true for everyone... I know there's a lot of folks that want their lives to change, but when they're told they need a couple years of expenses, and their 401K... and med. insurance... and everything paid off... and yadda yadda yadda... they get beat down... 'cause hell, they can't hardly scrape up the cash to pay the bills for This month! ... Those are exactly some of the CONDITIONED worries they're trying to escape.
If they had all that... they'd not HAVE many worries... It's chasing those things, that the "SYSTEM" holds just out of reach of most these days, that is THE Major component of the Chains that hold ever'body ON the Treadmill in the first place!
Convenient ain't it? That the things "They" say you need, to escape... happen to be The Very Things that prevent you from redirecting where you're headed?
So... let me put things in a lil' bit of perspective here...
When I tell ya'll I'm a Broke Ol' Buster... folks... I mean... If I don't make any dinero this month?... then I don't eat this month... I'm making my living... We're making our living... pretty much as we need it. THE definition of hand to mouth.
Now... I realize that there's a lot of folks for who that would be a terrifying prospect... they'd lay awake at night... worryin' what's gonna happen... guess I'm just lucky in that respect... I've always had confidence that I could find my way... and the passion for Freedom that powers me on over the fears of What Might could happen.
My point? Well it's that I'm not sittin' here tellin' ya'll to drive off into the unknown... broke... while I'm sittin' in serene safety, on a pile of cash... it just ain't so... I'm talkin' from the perspective of... I'm doin' it without a big bank account... no 401K, no pot of gold hidden in a bank... just a grumpy Ol' Buster, scribblin' his words, hawkin' his books... and haulin' NASCAR fans on occasion :) to make ends meet... and eating a lot of PBJ, as I chase the Dream.
I've got a busted windshield, two tires that need replacing... a computer that needs a battery... enough groceries to go another week... teeth that need some maintenance, and... enough cash to go to the end of the month... at which time... I'd better have made some more! :o) (well... a correction... we're sloooooowly building up a small pot for ALASKA II)
Now... I'll be honest here... The plan wasn't to be this close to the edge... but you know as good as I what's happened the last few years... and we got used pretty hard in all that. So... we're a lot thinner than I'd hoped... but... I just wasn't willing to lose any more LIFE... to the endless Treadmill...
The good news? With our preferred way of going (slow and no fee boondocking), helped along with sloooooooowly growing sales of my lil' cowboy publishing enterprise and a few fun jobs along the way, like our upcoming stint at NASCAR, to help fill in the gaps... we're living in the black... and slowly managing to build back a lil' bit of bad weather/broken parts $$$ padding...
So... my real point in all this wind is... If you want to change your life... if you want to chase your Dreams... Do it!... But... YOU, have to take responsibility for it. The system will try and talk you out of it... Your friends will... passersby will, if you let them... You have to want it bad enough to Make It Happen... You have to Cowboy Up and find the guts... somewhere, to Overcome the fears, real and imagined, of what Might Could happen.
Anything of any Real Worth... is usually a tough go... If you haven't got it in you to fight your way through... find a way to be happy within the corral the system puts you in... and if that is where you're Happy, that's just fine...
But... if you're Unhappy... YOU are the only one on this lil' blue marble... That has any power or motivation to do Anything About it...
Running Against the Wind... and Lovin' It!
Brian
Return to the main site of goin' RV Boondocking or Visit my Sister website Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road
A broken down Ol' Cowboy goin' RV Boondocking ...
...and Yondering, to the beat of a different Biker Cowboy Drummer
9 comments:
AMEN, brother.
Brian,
Thanks again for the encouragement and inspiration. Those of us who have something of a yearning for freedom in our souls can't help but resonate to your message.
Michael
Well said Brian. I've been full-timing for 14 years, but I'm not retired. I choose to work only half the year as a seasonal Park Ranger and save like crazy so I can make it through the other half. Well maybe make a few bucks buying and selling or teaching a jewelry class. I'm not financially Rich by any means, but I sure get by real good. People have to get past the Fear put into them by the systems to be "normal". OMG, please anything but normal for me.
Yup... "Normal" is not a word used very often to describe me!
Ahhh...why not kick back and agree you're kicking back and that you're RETIRED?!!? It's not a dirty word.
Were thinking of doing the RV boondocking next year in AZ .. just curious where you get fresh water and dump at?
We don't have solar but we do have a generator to charge up batteries with.
Will that be a problem for us?
Brian,
You're preaching to my choir. I escaped from that treadmill/safety net kicking and screaming. I was forced into change. It's the best thing that could have happened.
For others, I will say, you need to be debt free and the more self sufficient your rig, the better.
RV Adventures; Out here around the Quartzsite Area... there's a community park with dump and water in Bouse...
There's a commercial Dump/Water in Quarzsite...
South of Town at the LaPosa Area there's a dump and water... and I'm not sure about other areas...
Dumps and water really aren't a worry!
David; I have to agree...Debt free and as self sufficient a rig as possible is a good thing.
But... if I'd waited to get debt free... we'd still be waiting... So while I'll stand with you advising that It'll be a much easier road if you do those things... If you can't see it in your foreseeable future, I can't tell anyone to let their LIFE wait on it...
The economic crunch destroyed our initial plan. Not only eliminated getting debt free... it eliminated savings... so we punted... and are LIVING, one day at a time. :o)
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