Above is a clip from a BBC4 documentary called 'American Nomads'. It's about all the folks who have given it all up to live life on the open road. Whether it's the retired, the affluent, the poor, abused, the enlightened, anarchists, gutter punks, old, young, sane or crazy (we'll touch on labels later). This is the perfect example of the melting pot of who we are as a whole. Whether you're riding the rails or in a modern day RV wagon-train, all these people have decided to give it all up. No bills, no commitments, no responsibilities. Under nobody's control, but their own. Above is just a short clip, but I would more than recommend checking out the entire show. There are more than 1 million people out there who have decided to go off-grid and are much happier as a result. Would you be?
One of the first urges one has when their eyes have been opened is to leave it all behind. Obviously, based on the above documentary, many have already done so. But it's not just the one's who have all their ducks in a row so-to-speak. Living without a home, car, stuff, financial or other responsibilities may seem like a dream, especially when the show you're watching is set in a gloriously sunny locale and many of the folks out there seem to have found the same joy we see on the faces of tribes who've been untouched by our society's ills. But this documentary also shows the abused, downtrodden, and addicted are literally fighting for their survival out there.
Now that you see the world differently should you give it all up? Should you leave it all behind and take to the highways and byways? Sure, why not. But don't ever come back. Why? Because everything you've left behind will still be waiting for you when you return. I'm not just talking about things either. The very circumstances that trigger the automatic responses in you remain as well, waiting to be called to the surface.
You can surround yourself with all the circumstances in the world that trigger a calm, peaceful response in you, but without dealing with the underlying source of anger, jealousy, hatred, etc., the automatic responses to those circumstances will still be triggered. Just like the circumstances necessary for the flame to materialize, when those circumstances are present they naturally produce the flame. The flame is still here, but may not yet have the circumstances in place to allow it to materialize. Neither does anger in a place where the circumstances that trigger anger don't exist.
The point is we must first deal with the underlying cause of the effect of anger, jealousy, etc. before we can think about 'leaving it all behind.' So if all those negative emotions are still here just waiting to resurface upon our return from living in a cave in India, then what hope do we have to rid ourselves of them? None my friend, none... Say what mofo!? Doesn't enlightenment mean being free from the bonds of negative emotions and actions? Kind-of. It means being free of the influence those inherent emotions have over us to make us unconscious. Yep, unfortunately you still need to live with them. But now that you've experienced this new-found clarity, you are more aware those emotions exist and have power over you.
You now have the opportunity through clarity to see the triggers and understand they cause an automatic response. You can now learn through practice (hence, the term spiritual practice) to PACIFY them as they arise. Just like earning a black-belt in martial arts helped give me the clarity to understand the journey was just beginning, an enlightening moment is a window into what can be a lasting way of being. Just don't muck up this opportunity by burying part of yourself alive until you dig it up at some later date.
Besides, there's no reason you can't walk out the front door on a Friday with a backpack of supplies and find somewhere to camp alone for the weekend... In fact, I have friends in their 30's who spend half the year in a converted bus on the beach in Florida and half the year in the big city and are perfectly happy. No one but you says your life needs to be a certain way. You are the creator of this experience. You are the ultimate cause of the effects of your life. The balance is your to maintain.
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