Vagabonding

I picked up a book last week titled Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts. In brief I describe it as a "how-to" book on creating a lifestyle that affords one the resources to enjoy long-term travel and experience the world on your terms. Resources in this case means primarily time but also money. You can read more about the book and Potts at Vagabonding

The ideas really fit into my idea of trying to live a simpler, more intentional, aware and fulfilling life. The back cover describes Vagabonding as "Not just a plan of action, vagabonding is an outlook on life that emphasizes creativity, discovery, and the growth of the spirit." BINGO! That's what I'm looking for in my life.

About 6 months ago I got a substantial raise at work (about $1000 extra per month). YAY! As you might guess I was excited about this. I'd made it! But it wasn't but a few months after that this extra money didn't seem to make me any happier, life any easier or stress go away. I was still short on time. I still had the regular responsibilities. I still daydreamed about going to new countries, sitting on the beach. Anything, anywhere other than the dull khaki walls in my cubicle dealing with the same problems and complaints day after day. I still had this yearning for something different.

I realized that the career I was pursuing wasn't giving me the results I had hoped for. I thought that making more money would allow me to afford to travel to exotic locations. But this isn't true. What I needed was more TIME not more money. What I needed was less clutter and less accumulation of "things".