Chapter 2: A Life In Motion
As inspiring as all this change sounds on the surface, the
mechanics were way more involved. My old life ended in mid July of 2013. It
would be three months before we would land at our final destination. There were
logistics to be worked out to be sure but most of the delay was caused by my
own inability to act due to the fear and uncertainty that such an endeavor
represented. Like most middle aged men, the idea of change scared the shit out
of me. Oh sure, intellectually it made perfect sense but in the real world it
was a horse of a different color. The only time I had attempted something that
extreme was when I was in my twenty’s and in the Marines. It wasn’t nearly as
complex. I had one other person with me, and a whole lot less responsibility.
I had amassed a huge amount of things in thirty years of
living and the task of downsizing it seemed too huge to be done. So I put it
off…and I put it off…and I put it off. I guess the crazy part of me was hoping
it was going to take care of itself. Of course it didn’t and it wasn’t until we
got into crunch time that I really start to move. Ironically, it didn’t take
nearly as long to get rid of as I thought it would. It was very hard and
emotional though. I sold my cars, my tools, and all of the things that I
thought were so important. When I piled it all up I had two of a lot of things
and had to come to grips with the fact that I had some hoarder in me. It did
eventually get done and we had that final moment in our house where my wife and
I were looking at each other with tears in our eyes and thanking God for all
the wonderful memories and miracles that he had created for us in the house.
The last thing I said to her in that house was “let’s get out of here.” And
with those final words, we climbed into our newly purchased RV and we left
Florida.
The part that I would want you to walk away with here is that
any time you think about doing something as radical as moving across the
country after you leave a job is that it’s hard. No two ways about it. There
will never be anything easy about cramming your life into a cube and heading
down the road. If you think about it too much you will never do it. Whenever I
told anyone what I was doing they all said the same thing without exception: “I
wish I could do that.” Well you can.
I see people every day that hate their lives, hate their jobs,
and hate their realities. The sad part is that they will never change them. The
sadder part is that life is so incredible short and if you aren’t living it you’re
wasting it. I used to tell my children the only thing you have in this world
that has any real value is your time. It’s the one thing you can never get back
so spend it wisely and never waste it or allow anyone else to do so. That’s
another one of those things that looks great on paper but is really hard to
pull together in reality. So many of us want to play it safe and not step
outside our comfort zone.
As I right these words I am five days in Portland and I am way
outside my comfort zone. I don’t know what I am going to do yet, I carry a lot
of anxiety, and I worry about what tomorrow is going to bring. BUT I did the
right thing and I know that things will work themselves out and that I will
find my way in this new reality. If it was easy anyone would do it.
Everyone
should but they won’t because it’s hard. I would encourage you to take a look
at your reality and really evaluate where you stand. Are you truly happy? If not,
do you have the courage to live your life on your terms the way you want?
Remember what I said about time and that it is finite…
