For years, I've been curious about living in small spaces. The curiosity began with tiny homes. I fell in love with tiny houses long before they became a fad. Then I became interested in sailboats. And then vans.
These curiosities have led to various aspirations. My curiosity in sailboats dovetailed nicely with the opportunity to live aboard with a beau a number of years ago. Living on a sailboat has been one of my favorite living experiences. I've toured numerous tiny houses over the years, wetting my feet to the idea of someday living in one. You can make a solid bet that a tiny home is in my future; I'm just not quite there yet. I've aspired towards van living, too. A van, after all, would be a nice complement to my traveling lifestyle.
I find it fascinating how aspirations evolve. They often sit and simmer -- sometimes for days, sometimes for months, sometimes for years -- while aspirations are tried on for size and feel. Hesitancies abound and obstacles intimidate. After all, it can be challenging to muster the momentum required to give aspiration flight.
And then something happens. All the sudden -- sometimes with reason and sometimes just because -- an aspiration is granted commitment. As soon as I commit, all hesitancy fades, and as Goethe would say, providence moves. The next thing I know, my aspiration is a reality. That's how it was with piercing my nose. With quitting my job. With going home-free and later car-free. And that's how it was with my van.
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| Home, sweet home. |
On October 12th of last year, momentum rallied itself. How am I going to build a van? Where am I going to park the van when I travel overseas? Do I really want another vehicle when I have relished in being car-free the last few years? On that day, these questions shrank in size. They became distant specks in my rearview mirror.
