Getting Off The Gerbil Wheel

There seems to be a lot of interest in going minimal, getting off the grid, downsizing.

Some do it for necessity, some novelty, some just want their freedom.

If I don't spend it, I don't have to earn it.

Being able to make do, make use, or just make over are all skills for the survivalist, whether wilderness or urban.

And these days, we need to survive.

Getting off the grid happens first in a person's mind.

I met a guy who lives on a boat on the Hudson River. Each day, for fun, he goes into Manhattan, and watches people, buys fresh food, meets his comrades, and returns to his Water Castle. He has a resident duck. Not sure what this duck does come January, but I've seen pictures of the fowl perched happily on a flower pot, overlooking the river.

This guy has his facebook page, keeps up with all the events, and lives pretty much as he pleases.

I've met people at the other end of the spectrum: bought a beautiful house during the bubble and running on the gerbil wheel of consumerism. A big house is a vicious circle.

They might get off the wheel, if they could. Hard to get off a spinning wheel without getting hurt.Sort of depends on how much pain a person is willing to endure.

Depends how long they are willing to chase a carrot that is just out of reach, something a person does mindfully, and gradually, until the wheel finally slows enough to jump free.