Vanning Ain't No Joke Magazine Issue 1 Sept/Oct 2019

Nothing is ever perfect.
When we think things are perfect…
a perfect order, perfect way of life…
perfect???
Thinking like this closes
off our mind. Even so, society
pushes us towards their
pre-determined definition
of perfect. They want us to
believe it’s possible. Move
up the career ladder. Make
more money. Buy nice things.
Then buy a house. Get married,
have kids, retire,
grandchildren...It’s so set
up and so played out. I hear
people refer to the 80/20
rule. 80% of what we do is
for that 20% gain. This is
how we treat our lives and it
doesn’t have to be that way.
There is a reason lots of people
reach a mid-life crisis,’ and
it’s not because they’re out of
their minds. A lot of us become
entrapped doing something
for survival. To pay our rent…
to support our partying habits,
our eating out habits, our
car lease, mortgage…for the
majority of people around the
world, just to survive (imagine
that).
At some point, you may ask the question,
is this all there really is to life?
We as human beings stop growing when we stop learning, but
learning doesn’t need to stop. Unfortunately, it does. For so
many of us, we fail to even recognize when it happens. No longer
living, only doing.
I always hear, “you’re living the dream...I wish I could do
the whole van life thing.”
Lee (my brother), tells me he often hears that too. To be
honest, anyone could do it. An open mind, a few sacrifices (regarding
comfort) and a step (okay, maybe a leap) into the unknown
is all you need.
I’ve lived in a van full-time
now for 10-months. You
can call me a weekend warrior
because I’d work my
corporate job during the
week and adventure on the
weekends. It’s far from
perfect...Stealth parking
sucks...Unforseen problems
occur at random..And, space
is limited. However, with
the right persepctive, it’s
not that bad. I’ve endured
much, much worse…and, you
get used to it.
The payoff
was worth it.
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