Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Living a Stress-free Lifestyle

There have been times in my life when I've felt stress. A lot of stress. Days filled with activities I didn't want to do but which had to get done. Sleepless nights when I couldn't quiet my mind. Times when I would worry about things that were out of my control. Like when my roof had serious leaks that I couldn't afford to repair, and it would rain. Or when I almost lost my job. Or when a tree blew down in a storm and cost me over $1000 to get removed. The stress of having to do too many things that I didn't really enjoy, and not having time to follow my passions. The stress of living an expensive lifestyle in which there never seemed to be enough money. The stress of having to maintain the things that I had already acquired, while trying to figure out how to acquire even more.

I used to tell myself that all that stress was just a frame of mind. That I could meditate and practice mindfulness and learn to relax. And in fact I did, to a large extent. But I wasn't very good at it. And I would become a bit numb as I entered a mindful state, observing my stress from a faraway mind, but also having to observe my joys from afar instead of feeling them. It was a good coping mechanism, but then again, so was sleep.

When I first started living in a tent, I figured it would be less stressful. But I never imagined it could be like this. My life is so carefree. I have nothing to do, and all day to do it. I have no lawn. I own no property. I have no bills. My tent needs no maintenance. My systems are so cheap and simple that I never worry about failures. I don't have insurance because there's nothing of value to lose. I don't worry about losing my job because I don't need the money anyway. My life is simple, and I am free.

The modern lifestyle is stressful because it's nice and comfortable and those comforts and niceties comes at a price. I've walked away from comfort, and no longer have to pay that price. Now I sit around on hot summer days, sweating because there's no AC, deer flies buzzing around my head, relaxed and smiling. Thinking about how, when night falls, I'm gonna sleep soundly without a worry in the world. I take long naps on rainy days. I play my guitar and sing. I sit and listen to the birds and insects. I swing on my hammock and sing to the trees around me.

My current lifestyle feels like being on vacation and I'm completely enjoying it. I deserve a carefree life, as we all do. It's the natural state of mankind on this planet, and we can all still choose to live free anytime we wish. I've opted out of the modern lifestyle. It was bad for my spirit. I can go back anytime I wish but I won't anytime soon. I much prefer tent living.

2 comments:

  1. I read the 3rd paragraph 3 times. I found it very soothing.

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    1. Yeah, I just don't have worries anymore. A few days ago I had some stress. I had things that needed doing at work and I felt my tent "projects" were falling behind. It was all pretty minor stuff, but it really struck me that I was feeling some stress for the first time in a long time. It got me thinking about how I used to be so stressed all the time, and how now it was such a rare thing. My old stress just sort of faded away once I left my old lifestyle, but it was so gradual that I didn't realize it was happening.

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