My Plans Now That I’m Home Free
As many of you know I recently left my tiny house after living there for one year. I auctioned it off to raise money for tiny homes for people with no homes and raised enough to build ten tiny houses. That project is in the works now by friends in San Diego. Upon selling my home I got rid of a vast majority of my possessions and now own just over 100 possessions. I am carrying literally everything that I own on my back. I’ve been working for many years on simplifying my life and this is truly a milestone for me. I’ve found that generally the fewer possessions that I own the happier and more free of a human being that I am. At the same time, the more simply I live the more I am able to dedicate myself to the service of other people, animals, and the earth. Before moving to The Teeny Greeny I became 100% debt and bill free and I’ve maintained that to this date and intend to continue on in this fashion. I am now vastly free of material possessions, a set location, and financial ties. These accomplishments have made way for me to pursue one of my ultimate dreams of living a life that is deeply in the service of others.
As of now I intend to travel indefinitely, going wherever I am needed and working to make my country and the world a happier, healthier place. I am writing about my plans for those of you who may be wondering what I’ll be doing next but also for my own benefit of organizing myself and figuring things out. This is the first time in my life that I’ve indefinitely had no fixed home or city that I need to return to. Of course this is going to take some adaptation. This big change is coming at a time when not everything is running smoothly for me on the moral front. This is somewhat hard to admit but I have been challenged lately and my outlook has not been nearly as positive as usual. Nearly everywhere I look lately I see massive environmental and social problems and most of them are forecasted to grow rather than shrink. I have realized for quite some time that realistically the future may not be so bright for the human race. Sure we’ve had some great breakthroughs here and there but overall we’re on a vastly losing battle on the environmental front and so are the many species whose habitats and resources we are destroying. And the deeper I go the more I realize that the convenience and comfort of Western society is currently dependent on the burden and overwhelmingly the suffering of the nations that we pillage, often what we call “developing nations.” The Secret History of the US American Empire, Drinking Molotov Cocktails with Ganhdi by Mark Boyle, and watching politics have all been the demise of my positive outlook as of late.
Since going from drunk dude to Dude Making a Difference I’ve always had a grasp on the bleak outlook of life on Earth as we know it but I’ve always managed to stay positive, largely by making positive changes in my own life. Now I’m struggling for positivity. I’m learning how deep inequality runs within the human race and in our relationships with other species. It’s been very tough to swallow. On the abundant Earth that we inhabit far too many people are left to suffer or die by those who have far more than they actually need. I see many people who’ve lost their voice, security, health, independence, and their passion for life. The suffering of millions or billions of people is for the most part overlooked even though we are all the same race. Imagine how much we overlook the suffering, the slaughtering, and the extinction, of many of the other species that we share the earth with.
I am having trouble staying positive but it’s because of all of this that I know I must not give up. I am needed more than ever and thus I must give more of myself than ever before. Even if we are doomed as a species, for me it’s worth it to lead by example and fight each and every day. Most importantly because I believe that life is precious and every life is deserving of the help it needs to live with more happiness, health, and freedom. I want to help billions of living and future beings but even if I can just help hundreds or thousands in my lifetime of service it is worth it, whether we meet our demise or not. On a personal level though I refuse to live an undignified life. I find no dignity in giving up, living a life that I don’t believe in, and not helping others when I know I can. Continuing down the path that I am on, no matter the difficulty, if only for the sake of dignity, would be enough. But dignity is only a scratch on the surface in why I will continue.
As I’ve said I am now transitioning into a new way of life and it is going to take some adjusting to what I’ve created. The truth is that I am in need of rest after many endless days and weeks of working on my projects over the last few years. I have been living in a slightly hypocritical state because I haven’t been focusing as much on my health as I recommend to others. I’m talking about both my mental and physical health. Don’t get me wrong, I am doing excellent in the mind of most but I believe that I could be doing much better. I believe the best way to lead is by example and if I want to see a truly happy, healthy, and free world I know that I personally have some work to do on myself. I have been lacking exercise lately and also have neglected eating at times when I was too caught up in my work. What I need to work on most though is my balance with the computer. I spend far too much time looking at screens and I know this isn’t healthy, nor is all the sitting that goes along with it. I’ve gotten rid of my computer and now will just be using an Ipod touch and internet cafes. This should force me to largely deal with my dependency on computers. I think many of my peers, and myself, have very unhealthy relationships with screens and this is something I’ve been working on for a few years now. I am going to tackle this issue now. I am also going to be immersing myself in more meditation as I know this is central to real health and happiness.
Health is going to be my top priority but I will still be accomplishing a lot while I focus on health. When I came down here to Mexico my plan was to go on a mission of planting fruit trees and starting gardens for others. I still may do that but first I need to expand my knowledge and skillset. I think the best way to do this is to take a Permaculture Design Course and I have found one in April in Guatemala. I am fairly certain I will do this and spend the month in the Lago Atitlan area. I’m traveling with the love of my life and she will be doing acupuncture with some of the clinics as she is becoming more dedicated to healing others in need for free. I’m very proud of her. We also plan to spend time with friends learning about wild fermentation and conscious, present living. The plan after Guatemala is to visit Cuba and then return to the USA via Florida in June. Now that I have created a platform I will be shining the spotlight on other people that I meet throughout my travels in order to show examples of many inspirational people doing things that are beneficial to Earth and society. I hope to help people’s work and movements grow by shining the light on them and to inspire and encourage them to continue their work.
I am very thirsty for knowledge right now and will be spending a lot of time learning. I am also very dedicated to sharing important information with the world. Much of my time over the next few months will be spent writing. I’ll be sharing much of that in this blog. I plan to get fully caught up on life so that I can come back to the USA incredibly present. In the past I was working on many projects at once and although I accomplished a lot I was not always present. My plan upon returning is to really immerse myself in one project at a time. I have some projects that I am very excited about. I think the next big project will be immersing myself in a food desert for one month in order to learn about this issue more deeply. I will live only on the amount that someone living their would get in food stamps with the goal of paving a path for people who want to eat healthy but feel they don’t have the means or just don’t know how. People who live in food deserts have real challenges in eating healthy and I hope to help with this for many people.
I feel my greatest strength right now is starting little fires within others and letting it grow to whatever they let it grow into. So for quite some time ahead I intend to continue with my attention grabbing activism and to continue to raise a ruckus and get people thinking about their lives and their impact on the earth and others. In a few years time I plan to live for one year on 100% food that I grew myself. In the summer of 2017 I may take my third bike ride across the USA this time inviting people to join me. I also would really like to paddle the entire Mississippi River living on 100% foraged and hunted food.
In the long term I strive to become a great documentarian and produce some extremely impactful documentaries as well as write a few more books aimed to help others transition into more sustainable and just lives. Of course most importantly I will continue to lead by example and show people what can be done in an inspirational manner. I have a TV show coming out in almost every country around the world on Discovery Channel this spring and I’m interested to see if that will help in the growth of my mission. I’ve vowed to donate 90% of my earnings from media to nonprofits and will be holding onto that vow. I intend to continue having my own TV show to use it as a platform for doing great things. I also intend to do a lot of speaking and host events where people take action and come out empowered. I plan to do a lot of speaking at schools. In five years or so I can see myself starting a simple living center of sorts where people can come to learn how to tread lightly on the earth.
My plans as of now are not concrete but my ideals are. I don’t have a single item on my calendar and my to do list that went on for years is now empty. I have put myself into a position to live deeply in the service of the earth and those in need of a hand and you can count on me to do so.
Love,
Robin