Simple Living and Simple Travel

For decades I thought that when I got close to retirement I would get a few acres of land maybe an hour out of town with a small low-upkeep house; drill a well, set up solar panels, dig a garden, plant fruit trees, and acquire some livestock. A few years ago I started thinking that this would be a lot of work—daily chores, upkeep, always taking care of something that needed doing and it could be a real ball-and-chain if I wanted to go off for a month or so now and then. By simplifying my wants and getting a small trailer, living out on public lands, I have the quiet and solitude, wildlife, stellar views and time. This has proved to be most fulfilling. I only do basic upkeep and rarely do I do little projects. I’d rather go for a hike. Being able to follow the geese, I can also live mostly outside the year round. Living on a small homestead would definitely be rewarding but there is the time factor. At this point in my life I want as much time to do whatever I want whenever I want. Re

Simplicity is making our way through life with just enough baggage. Life can be pretty easy if we don’t complicate it by striving towards excess. Greater simplicity frees time, energy, and attention for personal growth and other satisfying activities. It’s like renewing one's appreciation of life. You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need. Vernon Howard We need little when we are directly in touch with life. It is when we remove ourselves from direct and wholehearted participation in life that emptiness and boredom can creep in. Getting rid of things that one does not need is participating in a symbolic act of releasing everything one does not need in one's life. One can have a hard time reducing one’s needs if one does not have something more fulfilling inside—life is lived from within. Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non