Today marks my one year anniversary of putting my stuff in storage, saying adios to my address and traveling the world as a member of the NPA (No Permanent Abode).
Even though I'm a citizen of a free country, a professional writer with a successful online business and a serious travel enthusiast, this opportunity had to wave its arms in my face for years before I finally made the switch from: "That would be great but I couldn't actually DO it" to "Holy crap I'm doing it!"
Now that I'm a year in, a strange thing occurred to me: The concept of living permanently in one place is now as unsettling to me as the concept of not living permanently in one place used to be.
We humans can get used to anything. It really is remarkable.
The problem is that we often use this glorious ability of ours to stay stuck in mediocrity. Oh the years we waste adapting to lousy marriages, soul sucking jobs, being friends with people who are rude to waitresses...
Meanwhile, fearing the unknown is ridiculous because we are able to make it familiar so quickly.
To celebrate my successful adaptation to a lifestyle that suits me perfectly at this moment in time, and to make sure my ass continues to adapt up, rather than down, I would like to share some of the wisdom I've picked up along the road this past year.
- Stuff and people either enhance your life or weigh it down. Choose wisely.
- Take lots of walks. It's the best way to discover your world, both inner and outer.
- Spend money freely on experiences that make you happy.
- If you work on staying present and in the moment instead of wrapped up in your head, you're able to receive invitations and intuitions that will steer you towards the things you really want in life rather than the things you think you should want.
- Talk to strangers. They're never who you think they are at first.
- Asking gets you there much faster than guessing. Even if you don't speak the language.
- Read something that blows your mind every single day.
- Make an effort to do the things that you enjoy instead of being lazy about it. Life is worth the hassle.