A year off work – Another 6 weeks on
March 21, 2020
This is going to be the final post in the trilogy of starting a year off, as I want to focus on what we are experiencing by having this extra time.
I have been asked, and to be fair we have asked ourselves the question: What will happen at the end of the year? What I am starting to realise is that the question is really being used as a limiting factor; “Surely it is better to have the security and stability we, as people, naturally crave” and as such there is a need to answer that question. It is a safe and warm place to be but this year is about opening up and experiencing, not worrying about something so big you can’t possibly answer it.
Day by day it’s a little easier to relax, so I have been reading and watching programmes about people who have been much more adventurous than us, who have taken much more risk and completely changed their lives. I am fascinated by what drove them to leave a normal existence and do something unprecedented: for example; buying a remote island to live on, moving to a tribe in the Brazilian wetlands or building a house 100 miles from civilisation.
I have noticed a theme is starting to emerge that is similar to my own thoughts about breaking your own personal pre-determined course and the expectations of family and friends. A common reflection is that life is like a book, full of chapters. The good chapters you make or hope last as long as possible but the other ones you try to fast forward. Why persevere with something that just isn’t working or enjoyable for you. A quote that resonated with us both:
“Don’t let your choice of lifestyle rule your life”.
The other thing I noticed is the lack of a fear of failure, and when asked if their current situation scares them as they grow older, the answer is rather simple; when time changes the status quo I will change again, no problem! 
Our own book is a series of short chapters within a larger plot. We have moved often and because of this we have significantly reduced the volume of our possessions and clothing to enable easy relocation. We have freed ourselves of the conventions of what is considered a normal life (a family home, long working hours, settling in one location) and what we even expected of ourselves at one time. We now need to find that next challenge to maximise our time off. Let’s be honest, what is the worse-case scenario for us? We have to get a job somewhere to pay for food and lodgings. So once you get over that hurdle you are all set, and to quote the inspirational Duane Ose from the BBC show ‘Win The Wilderness : Alaska’
“To say I did rather than wishing I had”.
Obviously in light of the current Coronavirus situation the plans we had made for this year are now extremely uncertain. Our travelling and house sitting have been put on hold, as has going to our mountain house in Italy and trips to France and the Champagne region.
This situation has changed our status quo and therefore we need to change our plans….no problem! As I keep saying to Jackie, there are worse places to be stuck than the Devon coast. We have decided, in the interim, to walk the South West Coast Path in sections (a good way to keep exercising…whilst keeping some social distancing).
Once we are able to depart the fair shores of the UK, let the journey continue.
