Dear Friend,
The biggest challenge to getting your lifestyle lined up with your dreams is knowing where to start.
The process of getting from where you are to where you want to be can at times seem so overwhelming that most people just don't attempt to start.
Let's face it. You know where you are. Sort of. Or maybe you don't? Either way, you can't get this process started until you do know where your family's lifestyle stands right now. So let's lay it all out in front of you.
Maybe you have a job. Or your spouse does. Or you both work. Perhaps your work takes both of you away from home every weekday.
Let's say that your kids go to a local school. Or maybe to several different schools. They have friends in the neighborhood. And they are involved in tons of activities that have turned you and or your partner into a minivan taxi driver.
You have friends in the community. You have put some time and effort into the kid's school PTA, or you are coaching their soccer team. You've made an investment into the institutions of your community.
You also may have relatives nearby. Perhaps an elderly parent or two who need (or at least want) you to stop by and visit with them from time to time. And you feel an obligation to do this.
This all may sound like your current lifestyle. Or perhaps your lifestyle is quite different from this description. No matter. The point is, you now have a superficial idea of what your overall day-to-day lifestyle looks like from an independent perspective.
Your next step is to draw an outline of what your family's lifestyle will look like when you are living the lifestyle that you know you were meant to live - one built around your true life's purpose.
This new lifestyle may vary little from that which you have just set down. However it is equally possible that your desired lifestyle varies so significantly from that which you now live that getting from where you are to where you want to be seems a practical impossibility.
For example, perhaps you want to travel extensively. Or you want to work from home so that you can be with your children as they mature to adulthood. If your current career does not allow for this you have two choices. You can attempt to adjust the way you work your career today in order to live the way you want to live, or you can abandon your current career and search for a new method of supporting your family that allows the kind of flexibility that you need. Making either change is no small matter.
Perhaps your desired lifestyle requires that your family leave your current neighborhood behind. That means abandoning schools, friends, family, and projects that may have value to you. Of course, people do this sort of thing everyday, but imagine that you will now replace all of this, not with another, very similar community with all the attendant activities you had before, but with a completely different group of peers, with different values and lifestyles than your family has accepted up until now as "normal." These new peers and their values may suit you better. They may be more in keeping with the real you and with your true values. But the change can still come as a shock to you and your family. Your children, especially teens, may think that you have lost your mind and just want to go back to their friends and to hanging out at the mall.
You may be transitioning from public school to homeschooling. With the former, many families rely almost exclusively on the schools to "educate" their children. Suddenly you are taking on the role of educator of your children. You are also spending a heck of a lot more time with your family. This new closeness may be one of your goals. But it can also lead to new and surprising tensions as you all actually start to get to know each other well, perhaps for the first time.
Extended family, particularly if they are of a traditional bent, may disagree, perhaps quite vocally, with the new direction that you are taking your family. In-laws may accuse you of child abuse simply because you choose to raise your children in an environment different than they raised their kids. There is a lot of ignorance out there, and there is a good chance that you will run into some of it during this process.
I am sure that you can see immediately that changing the direction and lifestyle of your family in mid-stride is a daunting task. It is this sense of being overwhelmed and of not knowing where to start, or even if what you are doing is the right thing to do, that prevents most folks from even starting the process. It is the self doubt and fear that creep into your consciousness, encouraged no doubt by a nagging in-law or two, that are most likely to stop you from ever beginning your journey.
It is at this moment that you must decide. Do you want to be happy, or not? Do you want to be an exceptional parent, or just a mediocre one? Do you want to live out your life's purpose, or just the life that fate has randomly handed to you? And finally, do you want to live your life now, or do you want to take a chance and wait until your kids are grown, independent and off on their own, so that you can begin your carefree life in retirement?
As for this last option, which is the option that I believe most people follow by default, consider your older friends and relatives who have taken this course before you. How many of them successfully stayed married while waiting for this moment to arrive, living a less than satisfying life and unconsciously blaming their spouse for their emptiness and exhaustion? How many of them had their health when they finally retired? How many of them have hangers-on adult kids, and help support a grandchild or two with the money they had been saving for their dream life? And how many simply died before they ever even got a start on their dreams?
It's up to you whether you take on the challenge that is living your life. But I will tell you this. If you think that you can put off living your true life's purpose forever, you are wrong. Old age comes at you fast. Don't believe me? Just ask an old person. They'll tell ya.
If you are ready to get started living the life that you were truly meant to live, then prepare yourself. You are about to begin the process of "Intentional Lifestyle Design" that has just been outlined for you. And you are, probably for the first time in your collective lives, going to be the architect of your own family's lifestyle masterpiece.
We'll talk more on this subject later. Until then...
All the best,
Hugh
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Time to Make a Move?
Dear Friend,
Today was the last full day of school for my children. Tomorrow there will be a simple graduation ceremony and then summer vacation begins. As you can imagine, they are quite excited.
Today, at the end of the school day, their school had its annual picnic. The picnic is an opportunity for parents to meet, or to reconnect, and for school staff and families to mingle.
This year, there was also an informal school meeting for the election of a slate of new board members (our school is an independent, non-profit, run by a board that is elected by the current parents).
At the meeting, I was reminded of all that this school could have been, and all that it has not become. I have written on this subject in the past and I will not belabor the matter.
Yet something about this meeting struck me in such a way that I felt I had to take action for my family. I was angry at what had become of the organization, at the incompetence of its leadership, and worst of all, at the passive apathy of the parents.
When your goal as a parent is to live a life of creative discovery with your kids, one of the key elements to your success in achieving that lifestyle is coming up with an educational arrangement for those kids that meets your unique needs.
A small private school can often be significantly influenced by a small group of dedicated parents. It can be made to serve those parent's unique interests, if those interests are also shared by (or at least are not inconsistent with) the interests of the majority of the other families.
Generally speaking, large educational institutions, whether public or private, cannot be flexible enough to react to your family's unique needs. However, small, community-run private schools may just fit your bill. The key is to find one with a leadership in place that is visionary enough to take you on. And this can be a difficult task, especially in rural areas or in areas that otherwise have few alternative educational choices.
As I sat in that depressing meeting I was reminded of an aggressive group of parents from a nearby community that had split off of our school and started a new school a few miles away. At that time their efforts were tiny.
When we returned home tonight we decided to check out their progress on the Internet. What we saw astonished us. Their growth had exploded. And this had occurred in a bad economic market when the "experts" at our school advised that such success simply wasn't possible.
Maybe it is time to make a move?
The bottom line is, our current school lacks leadership, at any level of the organization. And I do not want to personally fill that role. I have other plans for myself and my family. As a parent, living a creative family lifestyle, I need a school that can meet our unique needs.
The families that created and now lead the new, start-up school have proven that when forward thinking people work together to meet the needs of the families involved, a successful educational program can be developed in a very short time. And when kids are involved, time is everything. A five or ten year school development plan simply leaves out anyone who is currently enrolled.
The lesson of all of this? When you are school shopping for your kids, ask questions. Expect to hear the school administrators tell you exactly how they will cater their school program to meet your family's unique needs. If they tell you that they cannot do what you need, then move on. It can be done. They simply cannot, or will not, do it for you.
Remember. Your family's lifestyle goals are far too important to sacrifice to the whims of a lazy bureaucrat. Homeschool for a while if you must. But do not compromise your dreams. A unique educational solution for your family is out there. Just keep looking.
Best of luck!
Hugh
Today was the last full day of school for my children. Tomorrow there will be a simple graduation ceremony and then summer vacation begins. As you can imagine, they are quite excited.
Today, at the end of the school day, their school had its annual picnic. The picnic is an opportunity for parents to meet, or to reconnect, and for school staff and families to mingle.
This year, there was also an informal school meeting for the election of a slate of new board members (our school is an independent, non-profit, run by a board that is elected by the current parents).
At the meeting, I was reminded of all that this school could have been, and all that it has not become. I have written on this subject in the past and I will not belabor the matter.
Yet something about this meeting struck me in such a way that I felt I had to take action for my family. I was angry at what had become of the organization, at the incompetence of its leadership, and worst of all, at the passive apathy of the parents.
When your goal as a parent is to live a life of creative discovery with your kids, one of the key elements to your success in achieving that lifestyle is coming up with an educational arrangement for those kids that meets your unique needs.
A small private school can often be significantly influenced by a small group of dedicated parents. It can be made to serve those parent's unique interests, if those interests are also shared by (or at least are not inconsistent with) the interests of the majority of the other families.
Generally speaking, large educational institutions, whether public or private, cannot be flexible enough to react to your family's unique needs. However, small, community-run private schools may just fit your bill. The key is to find one with a leadership in place that is visionary enough to take you on. And this can be a difficult task, especially in rural areas or in areas that otherwise have few alternative educational choices.
As I sat in that depressing meeting I was reminded of an aggressive group of parents from a nearby community that had split off of our school and started a new school a few miles away. At that time their efforts were tiny.
When we returned home tonight we decided to check out their progress on the Internet. What we saw astonished us. Their growth had exploded. And this had occurred in a bad economic market when the "experts" at our school advised that such success simply wasn't possible.
Maybe it is time to make a move?
The bottom line is, our current school lacks leadership, at any level of the organization. And I do not want to personally fill that role. I have other plans for myself and my family. As a parent, living a creative family lifestyle, I need a school that can meet our unique needs.
The families that created and now lead the new, start-up school have proven that when forward thinking people work together to meet the needs of the families involved, a successful educational program can be developed in a very short time. And when kids are involved, time is everything. A five or ten year school development plan simply leaves out anyone who is currently enrolled.
The lesson of all of this? When you are school shopping for your kids, ask questions. Expect to hear the school administrators tell you exactly how they will cater their school program to meet your family's unique needs. If they tell you that they cannot do what you need, then move on. It can be done. They simply cannot, or will not, do it for you.
Remember. Your family's lifestyle goals are far too important to sacrifice to the whims of a lazy bureaucrat. Homeschool for a while if you must. But do not compromise your dreams. A unique educational solution for your family is out there. Just keep looking.
Best of luck!
Hugh
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Celebrate Today's Success
Dear Friend,
For years I have felt driven to pursue knowledge. This is one of my passions. I love to learn.
And in all of those years, the experience has always been the same. I will learn some facts, that then lead me to want to understand something even more. I will then gather more information, and tie that into all else that I understand to be true.
Eventually, a basic understanding of some significant question will seem to be on the immediate horizon. After a few dead ends, and some persistence, the answer to the question will be obvious.
Yet, despite this success, the solution of this one problem will invariably lead to the rise of several other, equally significant problems. The big answer that I was pursuing now seems farther away than ever. Sometimes I feel like the mouse whose cheese keeps being moved further and further away each time he pursues it.
The only rational conclusion that I can derive from this experience is that, the more one learns, the more one realizes how little he really knows about anything. There may have been a day when I might have felt puffed up with certainty about my understanding of how the world works. But that day is long gone. The universe is simply too complex a thing to be comprehended by minor creatures such as ourselves.
So, if what I say is true, how should any of us respond to this reality of ours? Is the pursuit of knowledge mere folly? Certainly not, I would say. The quality of our lives has been improved significantly as a direct result of the pursuit of knowledge. Is the effort to understand our own reality a kind of Chinese finger puzzle, that only gets progressively harder the more we try to solve it? Perhaps.
I like to think that we benefit by pursuing a better understanding of the reality that we exist within. Yet, we should not be waiting until some magical "theory of everything" answers all of our questions before we celebrate our victories. It is the process of learning itself, and those small victories that we do achieve, that are our true success. Celebrate now, what you achieve today. There is no destination to life, or to the pursuit of knowledge. There is only the pursuit itself.
All the best,
Hugh
For years I have felt driven to pursue knowledge. This is one of my passions. I love to learn.
And in all of those years, the experience has always been the same. I will learn some facts, that then lead me to want to understand something even more. I will then gather more information, and tie that into all else that I understand to be true.
Eventually, a basic understanding of some significant question will seem to be on the immediate horizon. After a few dead ends, and some persistence, the answer to the question will be obvious.
Yet, despite this success, the solution of this one problem will invariably lead to the rise of several other, equally significant problems. The big answer that I was pursuing now seems farther away than ever. Sometimes I feel like the mouse whose cheese keeps being moved further and further away each time he pursues it.
The only rational conclusion that I can derive from this experience is that, the more one learns, the more one realizes how little he really knows about anything. There may have been a day when I might have felt puffed up with certainty about my understanding of how the world works. But that day is long gone. The universe is simply too complex a thing to be comprehended by minor creatures such as ourselves.
So, if what I say is true, how should any of us respond to this reality of ours? Is the pursuit of knowledge mere folly? Certainly not, I would say. The quality of our lives has been improved significantly as a direct result of the pursuit of knowledge. Is the effort to understand our own reality a kind of Chinese finger puzzle, that only gets progressively harder the more we try to solve it? Perhaps.
I like to think that we benefit by pursuing a better understanding of the reality that we exist within. Yet, we should not be waiting until some magical "theory of everything" answers all of our questions before we celebrate our victories. It is the process of learning itself, and those small victories that we do achieve, that are our true success. Celebrate now, what you achieve today. There is no destination to life, or to the pursuit of knowledge. There is only the pursuit itself.
All the best,
Hugh
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Adventure
Dear Friend,
What does the word adventure mean to you? The popular media have created an image of adventure as adrenalin-soaked thrill-seeking behavior in an outdoorsy environment. And for some folks, that image fits perfectly.
But what if that kind of life just isn't you? Are you cursed to live out a life of static boredom because your interests are considered boring by others? Is there such a thing as adventure that isn't somehow life-or-limb-threatening?
People who live for a life that fits the traditional description of adventure don't need me. They just need to live their dream. I am reaching out to the rest of us - people who long for the joy of a creative, adventurous life, but who imagine that if we follow our spirit, we just wouldn't be as cool as those other guys.
Some folks are simply a bit ashamed of their passions. Especially guys. As a guy, do you think that the hot babe you just met would be more excited about spending time with you if you told her that your passion was bungee-jumping, or if your passion was butterfly collecting?
Of course, the ladies might say that it depends on the woman, but I think that most butterfly-collecting guys fear otherwise.
I'm not judging here. The opposite is true.
Dictionary.com defines adventure as follows:
Clearly, the popular concept of adventure fits number three well. However, the truth is that any action that you take that fits either definition number one or two is a true adventure for you.
The first two definitions include the concept of excitement, while the third only mentions risk, hazards, and uncertainty. Number three implies excitement. However, if you don't find risky behavior to be fun, then I would not label it adventurous either. At least, not for you.
The moral of this story is, to be adventurous, you must do what you find exciting, and not what your peers or the general culture considers exciting. Follow your passion. And forget about what everybody else seems to think.
Truth be told, many of your peers probably weren't having much fun either, but were afraid to say so, until a brave soul like you came along and dared to break with the crowd and really follow your heart.
So, be adventurous. Do what you find exciting!
Have a great day!
Hugh
What does the word adventure mean to you? The popular media have created an image of adventure as adrenalin-soaked thrill-seeking behavior in an outdoorsy environment. And for some folks, that image fits perfectly.
But what if that kind of life just isn't you? Are you cursed to live out a life of static boredom because your interests are considered boring by others? Is there such a thing as adventure that isn't somehow life-or-limb-threatening?
People who live for a life that fits the traditional description of adventure don't need me. They just need to live their dream. I am reaching out to the rest of us - people who long for the joy of a creative, adventurous life, but who imagine that if we follow our spirit, we just wouldn't be as cool as those other guys.
Some folks are simply a bit ashamed of their passions. Especially guys. As a guy, do you think that the hot babe you just met would be more excited about spending time with you if you told her that your passion was bungee-jumping, or if your passion was butterfly collecting?
Of course, the ladies might say that it depends on the woman, but I think that most butterfly-collecting guys fear otherwise.
I'm not judging here. The opposite is true.
Dictionary.com defines adventure as follows:
ad⋅ven⋅ture – noun
1. An exciting or very unusual experience.
2. Participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.
3. A bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.
Clearly, the popular concept of adventure fits number three well. However, the truth is that any action that you take that fits either definition number one or two is a true adventure for you.
The first two definitions include the concept of excitement, while the third only mentions risk, hazards, and uncertainty. Number three implies excitement. However, if you don't find risky behavior to be fun, then I would not label it adventurous either. At least, not for you.
The moral of this story is, to be adventurous, you must do what you find exciting, and not what your peers or the general culture considers exciting. Follow your passion. And forget about what everybody else seems to think.
Truth be told, many of your peers probably weren't having much fun either, but were afraid to say so, until a brave soul like you came along and dared to break with the crowd and really follow your heart.
So, be adventurous. Do what you find exciting!
Have a great day!
Hugh
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Foalin' Around
Dear Friend,Today was a journeying day for me and my family. We spent most of the day on the road, joined by my kid's teacher from school. We were headed off toward that dreaded swamp that I wrote about yesterday.
It seems that I overreacted. We arrived around noon at Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland. We are actually tent camping on the dunes behind the beach on the Atlantic shore.
What can I say? The scene is beautiful. The sand is white, with dunes piled high, tufts of sea grasses dotting their surface. "Wild" horses, called "ponies" here, walk around, unfenced and unmolested. I put wild in quotations because these ponies are actually quite tame.
On arrival, we opened the back of our van and began to unload our stuff. A pickup next to us did the same. At that moment, a pony walked right up, stuck his nose into the pickup bed, ripped open a plastic bag, removed a large ripe cantaloupe, and began a peaceful feast. Next, this pony begins to probe her nose into our van. She took a bite of a can of Sam's Cola that we bought from Wal-Mart, but didn't approve. Of course the can proceeded to squirt sticky drink everywhere.
While this action was taking place, other ponies had their way as well. One "grabbed" a watermelon from another pickup, and began his private munch fest. All of this within the first fifteen minutes of arrival.
My reaction to all of this? Well, yes, the horses made a pest of themselves, but it was a priceless experience. I don't think that there are many places left in the world where you can experience "horse thievery" in such a unique way.
And my kids were here to see it all. Their reaction? My youngest son was a bit disconcerted by the size and boldness of the horses, though he has seen horses many times. My daughter seemed somewhat interested. I have no idea where my oldest son was. At his age, he just runs off with his pals. But it's a safe place for that kind of thing, so we let him.
Despite all of this, the heat here is intense, and there is no shade. Our tent is a small oven. As we speak I am quietly hiding in our van, AC on, hoping no one will notice. ;-)
But really, the thermometer on my rear view mirror says 116 degrees F in the direct sun. That's too hot, and I need to get the gang under cover. We brought plenty of water and food. The kids ran in three different directions, and my wife, a responsible and sacrifice-oriented parent, feels that it is her duty to follow them all. I'm not sure how she will do that.
It seems to me that trying to shadow your kids puts the kids in charge and has the parent reacting, and exhausted. Then again, other parents are not responsible for watching my kids either. We put reasonable restrictions on their behavior and actions, and expect them to follow these. Do they always obey? Duh. But we also let them know of our disappointment when they act disrespectfully, and make sure that there is a consequence.
At some age, as a parent, I think that you just gotta let your kids go. Always in the safest environment possible, of course. But it's not a rubber room. There are dangers. That's the price we pay for letting them grow up. The alternative is to selfishly try to keep them as babies. I believe that far too many over-active parents do just that, and end up raising 40 year old teenagers in their basement. At least, that's my opinion.
We are scheduled to be here today, tonight, tomorrow, and finally depart on Friday. Unfortunately, this heat is scheduled to leave us tonight, being exchanged with severe thunderstorms, and then heavy rain and much cooler temperatures through Friday. It is supposed to feel like the low 50's F at night. If it was a clear night, that might be pleasant. However, one and a half inches of steady rain is forecast, which will certainly turn all of this nice dry white sand into a mucky mess.
I have repeated this forecast to my wife so often that she is quite sick of my voice. In truth, I want to bail out once the weather goes bad. There is nothing fun about living in a Wal-Mart tent in the middle of sand dunes soaking in 1.5 inches of cold rain, 20 mph winds whipping things up nicely.
Yeah, I know. Sir Edmund Hillary I'm not. I respect the h**l out of guys like that. And I think if climbing Mt. Everest was my passion, as it was his, you wouldn't be listening to whining now. I'd be crowing. But that's not my bag.
Right now I'm itching to get to Texas and pick out that motorhome. I just keep imagining how cool it would be to have it here right now. Sitting in the A/C. Drinking a cool drink. Taking a shower between dips in the ocean. And wouldn't you know it, one of the other parents brought his big class c motorhome and parked it across from me. Now that's the way to travel! :-))
Oh well, I'll try to keep in touch as things progress. It really is beautiful here. And contrary to my earlier concerns, the breezy conditions have ensured that no mosquitos have been spotted. ;-)
All the best,
Hugh
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Revenge of the Swamp Thing
Dear Friend,
I'll be honest with you. I'm kind of dreading the next couple of days.
You see, my three oldest kids' school has an annual camping trip. And this year we'll be spending three days and two nights in a hot, tropical swamp. My wife, me, and dozens of screaming kiddos. With bugs. Skeeters as big as eagles. And no-see-ums that fly up your nose all night (the tent screens won't keep 'um out). So we'll be covered in bug spray. There are chemical toilets of course. And somebody thinks that there might be a cold water shower available. Maybe. Somewhere. If it's working.
Now, don't get me wrong. I know that this place is beautiful. I've been there a few times before. And it's next to a national seashore that has a fantastic beach. But the water is too cold for me this time of year, and just behind the beach dunes is one whopper of a marsh swamp. That's where we'll be.
Of course, my kid's teacher, a biologist at heart, can't wait to scour the mud for interesting creatures to study. My kids can't wait for the trip either. Their friends will be there. They get off of school. It's an interesting environment. And they probably eat bugs when I'm not looking (who knows what they do sometimes?).
Ok. I admit it. The Passionate Warrior, king of "creative family living," is a wuss. I love the outdoors. But I really love hot showers, too. And a cozy bed at night. I love the smell of nature. But not the essense of Deet (bug spray). After three days of this I expect to feel like I just moved to the Meadowlands in New Jersey - covered in mud and smelling like a chemical plant.
In year's past our class has visited the mountains. Now that was nice. The weather was cooler. Bugs were moderate. Healthy hikes. But this time, I just don't know. I really don't think that this teacher knows what she's getting us into.
I'll survive, of course. What did I quote in one of my earlier posts? "The difference between ordeal and adventure is attitude." - Bob Bitchin. Or maybe that was on Twitter I said that. Anyway, it looks like I need an attitude adjustment.
And I don't care what they say, I'm takin' my 'puter!
Talk to you soon,
Hugh
Monday, June 1, 2009
Couch Surfing? Dude!
Dear Friend,
Want to travel, but can't stand the touristy feel of most places you go? Want to get the real scoop on your destination? You know, travel like a local? Wanna save a lot of money? Maybe you should try couch surfing.
What is it? Couch surfing is a worldwide non-profit movement of volunteers who will take travelers and their families into their homes for a day or a week or whatever, for FREE, with the goal of "internationally networking people and places, creat[ing] educational exchanges, rais[ing] collective consciousness, spread[ing] tolerance, and facilitat[ing] cultural awareness." See http://www.couchsurfing.org/.
The idea of couch surfing is to connect you with locals on a personal level. You stay with them in their homes. You help with the dishes or whatever. Maybe you bring a gift, but nothing is expected or required. They may take you around town, introduce you to friends, and often end up as permanent members of your extended friend network. It kind of like B&Bs, but for free.
Couch surfing is really a very old idea come back to life. For example, in Colonial America, folks with homes would regularly open up to travelers, feeding them, doing laundry, etc. It was considered the right thing to do, and there just weren't any Holiday Inns around in those days.
George Washington is said to have thought of Mount Vernon as more of a hotel than a private home, considering the incredible volume of travelers of many social classes who stayed with him and Martha through the years. When George Washington traveled, he did the same. That's why there are so many homes on the East Coast of the U.S. that can make the claim, "George Washington Slept Here."
Of course, things have changed since Washington's day. Most people's first reaction when they hear about couch surfing is, "Is it safe?" It's a fair question. Couch Surfing International, Inc., who claim to be the modern originator of the idea, state on their website that their reputation-based network of users, with "friend-link strength indicators and testimonials," and "including some technologies invented by the organization," help to insure that you aren't inviting Hannibal Lector home for dinner. So far, the system seems to be working.
Since its founding in 2004, Coach Surfing International, Inc. has accumulated 1,154,391 members (and counting), from 230 countries, plus Antarctica. It looks like these guys are onto something new (or old).
If this sounds like an option for you, then pop over to couchsurfing.org and sign up!
Whether couch surfing is for you or not, it serves as one more example of how creative ideas can allow for creative lifestyles, regardless of your financial condition. Way to go CSI!
All the best,
Hugh
Want to travel, but can't stand the touristy feel of most places you go? Want to get the real scoop on your destination? You know, travel like a local? Wanna save a lot of money? Maybe you should try couch surfing.
What is it? Couch surfing is a worldwide non-profit movement of volunteers who will take travelers and their families into their homes for a day or a week or whatever, for FREE, with the goal of "internationally networking people and places, creat[ing] educational exchanges, rais[ing] collective consciousness, spread[ing] tolerance, and facilitat[ing] cultural awareness." See http://www.couchsurfing.org/.
The idea of couch surfing is to connect you with locals on a personal level. You stay with them in their homes. You help with the dishes or whatever. Maybe you bring a gift, but nothing is expected or required. They may take you around town, introduce you to friends, and often end up as permanent members of your extended friend network. It kind of like B&Bs, but for free.
Couch surfing is really a very old idea come back to life. For example, in Colonial America, folks with homes would regularly open up to travelers, feeding them, doing laundry, etc. It was considered the right thing to do, and there just weren't any Holiday Inns around in those days.
George Washington is said to have thought of Mount Vernon as more of a hotel than a private home, considering the incredible volume of travelers of many social classes who stayed with him and Martha through the years. When George Washington traveled, he did the same. That's why there are so many homes on the East Coast of the U.S. that can make the claim, "George Washington Slept Here."
Of course, things have changed since Washington's day. Most people's first reaction when they hear about couch surfing is, "Is it safe?" It's a fair question. Couch Surfing International, Inc., who claim to be the modern originator of the idea, state on their website that their reputation-based network of users, with "friend-link strength indicators and testimonials," and "including some technologies invented by the organization," help to insure that you aren't inviting Hannibal Lector home for dinner. So far, the system seems to be working.
Since its founding in 2004, Coach Surfing International, Inc. has accumulated 1,154,391 members (and counting), from 230 countries, plus Antarctica. It looks like these guys are onto something new (or old).
If this sounds like an option for you, then pop over to couchsurfing.org and sign up!
Whether couch surfing is for you or not, it serves as one more example of how creative ideas can allow for creative lifestyles, regardless of your financial condition. Way to go CSI!
All the best,
Hugh
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