"We cant live like monks."
This has been Mark's favorite phrase this past month. and I have to agree. We cant. And if we try, the transition will be too painful and we wont follow through. Society makes it too easy to conform, and so hard to forge your own path. So we're on vacation. Camping about half an hour from home. Nothing major, but time away.
There is no wifi here, so this post will have been written over two days at the campsite. So far we have pitched the tents and are having a snack before the boys go fishing. I don't fish, so I brought my art journal, which is more than enough to keep me occupied.
"We cant live like Monks"
I know, I know. Nor would I want to. Other than the abundance of wine, I don't think I could get into the monastic lifestyle. Admittedly, the chanting and meditation would rock, but I think that's where it would end. I just feel so much guilt every time we spend money. Every. Time.
So much. But Mark does have an excellent point... we get what we pay for. Example : If I buy a ten dollar pair of shoes, that's what im getting, and thats what ill be replacing in just a month or two. Lets do the math... $15 a pair for... my feet stopped growing at 15... thats 6 pair a year... 150 pairs of shoes at fifteen bucks a pop... $2,250 in shoes. OR a 480 dollar pair of boots that will last me 20 years in sun, rain, or snow. Much cheaper in the long run. ( and yes, im still on the fence about buying these boots, but they DO last 20 years, seriously, ask any Ren Faire player about the Native Earth boots).
"We cant live like Monks"
I've been reading a lot of "how to downsize" books. They're all the same. 'Get rid of everything you haven't touched in a year, everything you keep needs to be either useful or beautiful'. The same thing, over and over. At least three different books. But nothing about how long it takes. About how emotional it becomes. Nothing about how you FEEL after you've tossed everything out. Its all very clinical, when it should be spiritual. Its very zen.
We've talked a bit this weekend about downsizing the house. If we can get what we paid for it out of the house, I'd have no problem moving into a mobile home or even an RV. But we'd have to at least break even, and right now we won't. The point is to REDUCE our debt load, not still be paying for something we don't even have anymore. A smaller space to live in would make the downsizing easier. There are points on both sides of the issue.
"We cant live like Monks"
I can see my breath this morning. Not something that we planned on for camping the last week of July. So no sleeping bags, just blankets. Trains going by and blowing their whistles every hour. Coupled with no pads so we slept on the hard baked ground.... not a fun night. But walking around the campsite this morn on my way to the bathroom (I don't get to pee in the woods like SOME people), there is a fog over the lake and over the river. Quite beautiful.
Ive already started a list of things well need if we make this camping a regular thing. Top of the list is sleeping pads. And sleeping bags. Maybe NyQuil. There has been talk of getting a little pop up camper. It would compliment my parents rv well. There would be lots of family camping trips. Again, cheaper than full blown vacationing, so we can stick to the plan, and not go crazy.
"We cant live like Monks"
I need a bike. And not just for camping., but for all the time. It would save gas money at least. For those little trips to the store for milk or laundry detergent. Instead of getting in the car and driving there, I could just hop on the bike and get what we need. Ive already asked my mom if I can borrow her bike, but ill have to learn to use hand breaks, something ive spent almost 40 years avoiding. I dont know the problem I have with hand breaks, ive just never gotten the hang of them.
"We cant live like Monks"
There are a couple of campers here with vintage Airstream campers that I have fallen in love with. I live the lines the simplicity, the 'cool factor' of the Airstream. I think I could live in one of those comfortably. I know I could. Totally kitch it out. Oh yeah. Teal and tangerine. Yes. It must have an awning. Teal and tangerine stripes. And gypsy curtains. Lounging pillows. I wonder how much a vintage Airstream costs...
I could paint it creamsicle orange.
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