It's all about Inspiration

In one CouchSurfing forum, called "Nomads", there is a user that asks the following question:

How did you justify your decision to live a nomad life to your family?

And there is another user, NOMAD POET, that answers this:

Dear Peter,

Breaking out of the mold the world has created for you is the hardest part of growth and evolution. And I won't lie to you, it gets easiER over time to walk your own path, but it never gets EASY. There will always be way more people who want you to just be normal, and do what everyone else does. Because misery loves company, and the happier you are being free, the more they notice the lack of freedom or happiness in their own lives. You're blowing the curve for them. You're making the things they have settled for more apparent. You are pushing the buttons for all of their fears and insecurities and making it very clear that SOME people live outside of what they perceive to be the only and safest way to live - and they survive just fine. In fact, they (we) are WAY more than fine. We are exuberant and vivacious and bubbling over with fits of perfect. And you know what? Making them face those fears is good for them.

I never convinced my parents of anything. I just stopped being what they expected me to be and started doing what I wanted. You need to be self-sufficient. You can't expect any money from them, and then they can't require anything of you. I left school in the middle and went and hiked the Appalachian Trail when I was 21, spending 6 months hiking through the woods. I did choose to go back to school, piece by piece, in between working in the fisheries in Alaska, and I did finish, because I was still partially under the spell of society's fears. But I am 39 now and I have never used my degree for anything. I don't regret my time in school, because I chose wisely and studied subjects I was interested in. I have definitely used my "learning" but never my "credentials."

I made sure that I never needed anything from my family and I come back and visit them at least once a year, sometime staying for a month or so if I have the time available to give them some time. If I am traveling I leave a blog with photos and stories so they can see what I am doing. They are endlessly amazed by all the adventures I have been on. I keep my communications to once a month or so - that way if I am in a remote area where I will be out of touch for a while (like in the Amazon jungle or out in the highlands of Tibet somewhere) then they won't get anxious if they don't hear from me in a while. usually I don't tell them when I am going to do something considered by most people to be "risky" or "dangerous" until after I have done it. Then I tell them all about it and how AWESOME it was. Living vicariously through my successful adventures helps them to become more brave and to see a bit of the world and its possibilities even if they don't have the courage themselves to go follow their dreams.

Not everyone will ever be like us. But if you can show them consistently over time that you are surviving just fine, don't need any money from them, and that you are having fun and enjoying your life, hopefully they will start to relax and stop feeling anxiety over whether you will ever be "successful" by their small perception of what that means. Maybe over time they will even be able to see that you ARE successful by any real standards. Maybe not - some people cling to their fearfulness like rats to a sinking ship without ever having the courage to let go and learn how to swim.

Most importantly is having the courage to love them despite their fears and anxieties, and gently but firmly continue to do what you need to do to be happy regardless of how they may try to make you feel guilty for how they think you are "making them feel." You are not responsible for how they feel.

My parents thought I was crazy when I told them I was moving to Tibet. I was thirty. I sold my business and all my belongings and moved to the farthest reaches of the world. I managed to pay off the last of my student loans while earning $300/month there. And became more free than most people I know in this country. It was one of the biggest adventures of my life. They missed me. But they had their own lives to think about. I sent them updates.

And when I returned 3 years later and went straight from the airport to a remote fishing village on an island in Alaska... but by then I had been like this for more than a decade and they were simply waiting for the next installment in their own personal adventure story. Then I started circling the globe on a migration route, sailing across oceans, sending them more professional looking blogs, coming back for visits in between. They had no idea how I survived or how I paid for anything and I told them that we were never going to talk about money. So it never became an issue for us again. They became clearer over time that I was happy with my life. And stopped harassing me about it.
But my grandmother is still waiting for me to finally settle down, get married, do the normal routine. Some of them will simply have to keep waiting. And that's okay. We are not responsible for how they feel.

It makes it easier to find other nomads and have people you can share with - and most importantly realize you are not alone. Stand firm in who you are. In my opinion it is the best , and ONLY way (for ME) to be. And it is invigorating and satisfying in ways no career has ever inspired me. And in the end, it is not what you leave behind, but how well you used your time, that really matters.

Good Journey, fellow Nomad!
with gratitude and enthusiasm,
Aokha Skyclad, the Nomad Poet