dirtbagway

These articles first appeared on a blog called The Dirtbag Way.

One Small Bag

04/02/2016 by John Leave a Comment

The time to pack has come again. After a busy winter of working in South Florida, we are preparing for another season of travel. This week, Mary and I will take turns as crew members of the sailing vessel Yankee Girl as she begins her voyage north for the summer before we go to Spain for two months to attend a language school, visit friends, and hike The Camino de Santiago.

Though it has been everything but restful, the late fall and winter months have felt like a period of hibernation that I am now awakening from. It has been good to be in one place for a while and to have some routine back in my life. I have enjoyed living in a space to call my own that is bigger than the interior of a Toyota Matrix, while at the same time I feel overwhelmed by the volume of stuff that still inhabits my life and seems to collect so quickly whenever I come to rest for any length of time. On the boat and in Spain, the sum possessions of my life will have to fit inside of one small bag.

As I have written before, there is an intoxicating sense of freedom and possibility that comes from living out of a backpack. Knowing I can comfortably carry all that I need and walk in any direction I choose means anything is possible. My possessions expand to fit the space available I have to house them. My life expands when I have little to call my own and must seek things out in the world, reaching out to others to assist me at times. The walls I inhabit to contain my things too often serve to block my view of all else that is possible. The time has come again to tear down those walls. place the few things I really need in one small bag, and see what there is to see.

These articles first appeared on a blog called The Dirtbag Way.

The Clock Is Ticking

03/04/2016 by John 1 Comment

John's Predicted Lifespan I recently heard an interesting interview with Kevin Kelley, founder of Wired magazine on The Tim Ferris Show. He talked about having a clock on his computer desktop counting down how much time he had left to live according to government actuary tables. If the glowing rectangles that I seem to always have in front of my face displayed a number steadily ticking down the time I have remaining to live, I wonder if it would change the way I spend my days? And what if all of us did this? What kind of world could that create? I think that knowing what “the experts” think my life expectancy should be could also serve as a challenge to try and beat the odds and see how long I can go past my due date. The everyday awareness that there is an end to this life could be empowering if I allow it to be.

A quick internet quiz gave me an estimate that I will live to be 92 years old, meaning that I potentially have half my life still ahead of me. That information is both encouraging and sobering. Yes, I have plenty of time left to enjoy life, but it is passing and with each year, optimal health will be harder and harder to maintain. Just because there is plenty of time doesn’t mean I want to squander any of it.

Most of us act as if time is unlimited, though intellectually we know this not to be true. How many pointless articles on the internet would I forego if I knew how many hours I had left to live? How much time would I spend stewing over what should be simple decisions if I had some idea when I might die? What can I do to better take care of my body in order to enjoy my remaining time and perhaps even extend it?

Death is something we avoid thinking about but should keep in mind each day. We need to be aware of how we spend our precious time and make choices we will be satisfied with when our end is upon us. We need to appreciate the people in our life, knowing their time is limited as well. Each moment is a new chance to make a decision about how we spend our time and how we treat our body. Every second is a chance to influence what attitudes and actions we bring into the world. The clock is ticking, so what are we going to do with the time that remains?

These articles first appeared on a blog called The Dirtbag Way.

The Road Goes Ever On

11/03/2015 by John Leave a Comment

It seems like our car seats are always warm these days. The hum of the machine washing the sheets is another reminder that we will be sleeping in a different bed tonight. There is an over abundant pile of my stuff waiting by the door.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
~J.R.R. Tolkien