Nomad Ninety Nine

My Nomadic Awakening

I recently woke one morning and began to realize (and question) that there had to be something more to my life than just the “norm” that I had been living. Had I finally gotten to the point where I had achieved all of my aspirations? Had I finally reached that good ole’ American Dream? OK Well now what? Was I truly happy being one of societies robotic normies? Was I destined to spend the rest of my life in the same town, doing the same things, being content with the occasional trip or creative project to keep me occupied? That question was quickly answered from a voice within my soul with a resounding , Fuck no! That is definitely not me and pretty much never has been!

The American Dream? Hmmm… was it really MY dream I pondered as I looked at the person in the morning mirror? Hadn’t I accomplished so much already? Had I not reached the high marks of success scaled on societies “you did good” chart? Hadn't I followed through and accomplished most of my personal dreams? Wasn't the whole working hard, getting ahead, buying the home, getting the cars, a few nice things, more things, buy, spend, buy, spend, bills, bills, bills, stress about bills, work harder, look forward to that retirement, realizing I hadn’t saved enough, keep working, try to pay off that debt. Only to eventually retire and then six months later drop dead from a heart attack or something, Hadn’t I accomplished most of that already? Isn't that basically what the American Dream is really about? Yea, no, thats when I had to take a step back and started to reassess things.

It seems somewhere along the way, I had become conditioned to believe that working hard to spend more and live with debt was some kind of special privilege. 

I began to ask myself, is this what MY life is really about? I suddenly felt like I had been living in a trap! The ‘trap”. Societies “trap” Don't get me wrong I have had a great life, but over the past 15 years or so my spirit felt chained and my creative mind was bursting to be released. Then came the question of Who am I, No who am I Really? And furthermore who is this person with the shitty ass beard that is staring back at me in the mirror?

I realized that there needed to be something more. That there was something more. I was not done with MY dreams. I was living the dream that had been sold to me by the same society that wanted to keep people in their place. Spending in debt and under control!

That's also when it came to me… the voice said its time to ROAD TRIP! Give up the "things". Focus on what is really important in life. Make connections, share experiences, live with self truth and inspiration! I realized that the only thing holding me back at this point was fear. How would I get by?

So I made a decision right there and then to sell my home, donate, sell or give away my "things" hang on to a few personal belongings and make a major shift in my life. I would take a crack at living as a minimalist, reduce my costs and spending, bringing things down to survival levels and by removing all the materialistic clutter that had been weighing me down, and go on and adventure. I would seek a new plateau of freedom- physically, mentally and spiritually.

 This whole idea was like a breath of fresh air. A weight lifted off my very being. Live a simple life that is geared towards bringing out the best in myself and inspiring others. Wow! Was it really possible? To follow my passions and BE my dreams? Be the person that I always believed myself to be? Remove all the clutter of the “things”.  Enjoy life, travel, experience and appreciate people, culture, food, art, music? To completely reinvent my life? Why not? If not now, when? The decision was made...DO IT!

And so the journey begins...

I hope you follow my journey. I will document much of it through my pictures, thoughts and stories as I trek across the globe living my dreams and hopefully inspiring others to do the same!