Sermonizing 'bout The Story of my Retirement ...

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

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