Up until now, I've viewed tent living as a physical endeavour. I've focused on the practical side of physical life. Keeping my body safe and comfortable. Fashioning my systems to be simple and functional in order to meet the needs of my body. Along the way, I've had hints that my home is a spiritual place, too. But only quiet, subtle hints. Or maybe they were indeed loud shouts instead of quiet whispers, and I just wasn't listening very well.
Now, as I enter my third year of living this way, I have begun to see this as more of a spiritual journey than a physical one. Remarkably, the spiritual changes that have begun to happen lately are far more interesting, and far more intense, than heating with wood and carrying water and lighting with oil lamps. I have achieved some sort of alignment in the physical world, which has now left me free to explore the spiritual side of my life, which I must admit has been long neglected.
It's clear to me that living in a tent pleases God. In fact, I don't believe he thinks it's unusual at all. After all, the rest of his creation lives simply, too. And they, by his design. So if I am to create a home, should I not look to his creation for clues in the matter?
I've looked for those clues, and apparently I have done something right in living this way. My home is a humble place. I have no debt. I do not claim that I "own" the land on which it sits. I am safe and live a healthy life. Yes, I am a bit cold in Winter, and a bit warm in Summer, but my home serves me, and not the other way around. And so it is with all the other homes built by Life on this planet. (Well, with the exception of many of the homes built by Man.) All of God's creatures build homes in accordance with their nature, from nests to burrows, from ant hills to bee hives. And all share many of the same attributes. Simplicity. Economy. Aesthetics. So I'm very pleased with my home.
In resolving my physical problems, I think I've made room for the spiritual. I've never been religious. In fact, I've been atheist. But now I pray, and I know my prayers are heard, and answered. I can hear now, and I can see. I've never felt such grace, and I am overwhelmed by it all.
