Try A Comfort Fast: New Priorities After Living in a Tent
Dreams are a window to the soul—sometimes random, sometimes murky and hard to interpret, but other times just blindingly obvious and embarrassingly shallow. In my beautiful dream the other night, I was sitting at a desk organizing papers. I took a stack of receipts and reached up to a set of shelves to where a pile of clean white envelopes was waiting. It made me deeply happy.
Life in a Tent
You see, for two months we’ve been living in a tent. Not camping, but living: getting kids ready for school, cooking, getting clean, sweeping out spiders. Two months with all our clutter and comforts and distractions stripped away, laying bare the essentials of life and letting us see what we really need or enjoy.
Surprisingly, we miss very little. Yes, little things like indoor plumbing and sock drawers and cold juice will be nice when we move into our new house, but the biggest excitement is to have a desk with drawers and shelves. Somewhere to file papers, leave the computer plugged in, and find envelopes. Somewhere to get stuff done.
But What Will Be Lost?
Ironically, that simple workstation threatens the very aspects of this nomadic life that has brought our family closer together. Instead of checking emails and paying bills, we’ve gone for family walks, picked flowers, fed the pigs. After the kids are in their sleeping bags, instead of Facebook and videos we’ve watched the moon rise, enjoyed the wood-burning sauna, lit a fire.
Try A Comfort Fast
When we fast, the first foods we crave are inevitably our unhealthy addictions. Apparently, the same holds true for a comfort fast.
So here’s the challenge. Find a way to strip yourself of all your clutter, all your comforts and distractions. Get as basic as you can for as long as you can (in your imagination if nowhere else) and discover what brings you deep Joy. What rhythms naturally work for you? Hold onto those, find ways to maintain and nurture them in “normal” life.
And most importantly, listen carefully to what you most miss. If it’s healthy and doesn’t take away from the “joys” list above, then bring it back and celebrate it. But you might find it’s just clutter, once again separating you from that basic, natural rhythm.
As for us, we’re putting the office out in the garage. A place where we have to deliberately and intentionally go to when the time’s right, rather than just absently drift from our children and easy-togetherness that we’ve learned to cherish. We’re going to find a way to have our envelopes and lick them too.
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Photo courtesy of Pink Moose
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October 21st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Interesting idea, Rick. Every year, I go camping for two weeks at a medieval renactment event called Pennsic. Even though the accommodates are luxurious by camping standards (we have a camp shower, a wonderful cook, and suchlike), it's hardly urban civilization.
The things I inevitably find that I miss by the end: showers, my own bed, climate control (cool air during the day; warm air at night), and my family.
On the other hand, I have an absolute blast. I get to sing and perform for two weeks straight, see friends I only meet once a year, and have experiences I'd never have anywhere else.
It's not quite a comfort fast, but it's definitely a system shock to make me realize what's great in my life. (Incidentally, my diary from this year's event can be found at http://www.geocities.com/yourstruly/penndiary9….
October 21st, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I've lived in a tent too, but never with kids. The first time, we moved onto property we bought while there was still snow on the ground. We lived in the tent from March-August. The second time was when we bought a different piece of land and were building a house. This time it was March through November, which also coincided with my first teaching job. It was hard when the rains came.
November 3rd, 2008 at 8:16 pm
This is a great idea, and one I am going to try. A one week comfort fast from this Thursday to next.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Wow, what a life-changing idea. I am yearning for simplicity right now, we relocate at the end of the school year to a little town in the Okanagan and I am anxiously excited. As we plan with the architect I am constantly struggling to avoid all the showhome bells and whistler that everyone seems to be opting for. Some decisions are easy like seeing my husband on the weekends OR having granite counter tops and him working overtime for a year! Other things I are not so easy, your approach might be a good way to re-prioritize.
When I had my 3rd babe we hit the road for a month with our little tent trailer and went as far as Arizona…and did some great things like the Grand Canyon. Although camping and travelling with a newborn in the desert in the summer was kinda hellish at times it was super for our family. No TV, not internet, just playing, reading and exploring. I really want a Yurt on our land… a little hideaway…maybe I'll take the boys and live in the yurt for the last month or so of the build.
Thanks again for sharing about your family and your journey into simplicity.
December 24th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I just imagined a life without coke a cola and carmel mochas. I don't know if I'm ready.
February 21st, 2009 at 5:26 am
Loved reading this entry, you have done a great job with this! bookmarking you will surely be back again, thanks.