Living in a van we have noticed many things that are different from the life we left not long ago.
One of the most astounding changes is the willingness and - dare I say - habit that has become totally normal in letting things flow more slowly and enjoying it thoroughly!
Sure there are ups and downs, and the downs do still tear at us more than we would like. But letting go of something old is a process and takes time to get used to. Like walking the first time it seems hard - until it becomes normal and elevates to a new default that is accomplished without challenge.
Challenges turn into a new plateau of living, a capability to better deal with impending situations unforeseen. And while the negative developments still challenge us to a degree, we feel so much of the general level of burdens has fallen away for the most part. The daily life has become so much more rewarding and no day is like the one before...
Multitasking for example has pretty much become an old memory now as there is simply no need for it anymore. Everything we do we do consciously now, one thing at a time, even the "simple" things or "chores". Washing the dishes gets as much attention as talking about philosophical notions at the end of the day, or writing an article for Steem or filling up water or taking pictures along the way. Cooking is no more or less relevant to the flow of the day to existing as a human being than driving down a foreign road is, discovering new places to stay or meeting new people in distant corners of the country we are traveling in, as well as other travelers on their own path.
Both my lady and I agree that we totally dig what this travel life has done for our attention to detail, for our appreciation of the moment. It's easy to see the importance of it - even when one is living the common 9-5 existence under stress and and hurrying from one appointment to the next - but to live on the road has almost automatically allowed this ease into the moment to manifest all on its own. And it's increasing by the day.
Before we left we had the feeling that this overly fast and stressful 9-5 life with rent, appointments and the constant treadmill was not good for us in the long run, but even now with sub-optimal conditions like winter weather, minor health conditions and a pretty unorganized van interior where things have not entirely found their right spot yet we already feel so relieved of all the BS programs that had ran our lives for the majority of the last decade. Our hearts are way happier the way we are living now and they keep telling us that we are on the right track, even in light of all the hurdles that come up.
And so it is with great anticipation and optimism that we await the return of spring and the kickoff of our music-season with playing music on the street to start covering our travel-expenses. Time to manifest true abundance.
We are yet to make it to Southern Europe for the remainder of the winter but this realization that we live more happily in the moment than we had for most of the times we remember since early school days - THAT is a true gift we really earned , through all the work and commitment that went into our van-life project in infinite faith that this would somehow work out if we only pressed on and don't ever lose our faith in our higher calling.
Yay for decelerated lifestyles!
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