What we work for, what we live for…
Thursday, July 28th, 2016Please email me directly [icon above] for International Book shipping rates or for multiple orders.
If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.
~ William J. Clinton ~
Such two different aspects. Work for, Live for… They are. We are so afraid to live as who we really are. Look around or better, look at your screen. Mondays are the cool displays of weekend accomplishments. There is even an extra aspect of what we live for. Do we live this Life for ourselves or for so too common now "others"? Questions… questions… Those questions were non existent just a few years ago. Adventure, motorcycling, camping and everything else in that category has turned into such a huge industry and one can only wonder about the honesty of so many words written to expose one’s exploits. The scene reminds of a few years back when a literary movement of higher consciousness started. The first book truly opened up the eyes and mind of so many. It did not take long for the copycats to surface while it instated in everyone’s mind a red caution flag as to what they were going to read! I do read some blogs here and there. Not many. I smile at most of them as I remember which books they are copied from, excerpts taken from… Has this have anything to do with greed? I smile… there is no more wondering!
We are going through a long intermission at the moment here at The Oasis. It could last for months. That is just the way it is for now. Have thieves won the battle of locking us within this space with the fear or maybe anxiety it will happen again? Has this space, the most loved space in existence for us turned around and taken away our freedom? Not totally but… more questions… A friend of mine showed up yesterday who also lives not too far from here and his words were "it is just stuff" that can be replaced. Of course, yet, it costs… Social Security is not very generous and I guess it is easy to say that if one has the money! I personally cannot go through it again. My memories reminisce on years past, these past ten years and further back. Nostalgia going through old photos…
I do of course have the answers and a solution with the least compromise. Same questions and answers as when camping on BLM and National Forests lands which have become a free refuge for the homeless addicts turned also thieves when camp gear is left behind for the day.
Yes, I have the solution which will take some time to be put in action. Patience as I tell myself these days "look at it as a vacation!". So much has changed these past 10 years and not for the better for sure. I visit some close by neighbors I trust and their thoughts are the same. Of course I also hear from others telling me that wherever we go is the same. I know it is. Yet, we will get around it all. A new path, new mixed in with the old one. I am only seeking a Peace of mind. Is that too much to ask?
What an odd schedule this here has turned out to be! 5am wake up call! Time for chores or a ride outside before it reaches 100. Back to sleep around noon until almost sunset. Another nice time of the day. Up until late at night and on for a few more hours of sleep. Repeat. The afternoon sun is brutal. There is no other word for it yet Peace does exist when we are here.
I miss the simplicity of just tenting. That is the direction we are going to take even if after ten years this body has paid the price. We shall push it a bit more. There is nothing like it to pitch a tent in the middle of nowhere away from it all. Materialism has not done us any good. All here is only exposed for the ones with no conscience and do not want to work to just take away from others.
Stay well… Ara and Spirit
July 29th, 2016 at 6:13 am
Bad karma for the thieves. The weather has to cool off at some point right? It’s been very hot where I live too (hot for the midwest anyway). I get all my “outside” stuff & dog walking done early, then I’m inside until it cools off later in the evening. I try to remind myself how terribly cold it is here in February, then the hot weather doesn’t seem quite so bad.
July 29th, 2016 at 9:55 am
I agree about tenting. I loved my trip last summer although too short. Your photos of your dog are fantastic.
July 29th, 2016 at 6:51 pm
You raise a lot of difficult, challenging questions. What do I live for? Who do I live for? Difficult and uncomfortable. Life has a way of sweeping me along without me realizing I’m far from where I want to be. Or at least that’s how it can seem. On another day under different circumstances, or sometimes the same ones, I feel as if I’m am exactly where I should be.
That’s when I start to wonder if everything I fear or love is just a quirk of emotion and not rooted in anything real. Now and again I read blogs that detail grand adventures to far flung places and I’m left with a feeling that the stories and pictures are sanitized to avoid any uncomfortable intrusion of the kind of noise and suffering one can meet on the road. I’ve been following some young couples who live “off the grid” in their VW camper vans. On the surface it can seem like a perfect life. It’s always a beautiful young woman as model in pictures and the man, when he appears, is some heroic athlete climbing, biking, kayaking or some other feat. And one or both are obviously talented with cameras since there is never anything but exceptional photography. One woman commented, “How does she maintain that hairless body?” Hard to imagine shaving legs and armpits when you live off the grid and bathing isn’t quite the same as it would be in civilization.
Anyways, I’m sorry you’re suffering through an intermission. It’s something all of us will face and I suppose the lesson is in the quote you posted — never give up. It’s been 14 months since I’ve had a heart attack and I’m still living and working in ways I didn’t before it happened. Can’t just follow my natural behavioral path. That’s behind me now and I’m in that brave new world.
Best wishes in the heat. I try to imagine living where I sleep through the heat of midday and conduct life around the beginnings and endings of the day. Sounds as if you’re right in the middle of a different sort of adventure in the Oasis.
As always, give Spirit a pat on the head for me. Can’t imagine a life without a dog…
Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks
July 30th, 2016 at 6:55 pm
Thanks for writing Steve. Well, all depends on one’s intimate Life regarding challenges and difficult questions. I was never quite a thinker before Lance passes away as I am sure also your heart attack raised some new aspects of our Journey as you write about. BTW, have hope… I had a few heart attacks in my 40’s and at 47 had 5 bypasses. That is 21 years ago and still going strong… so far! We are just here putting some future steps in motions which takes time. Just heard more theft stories today about 15 miles from here while having to see a mechanic friend! Unbelievable to say the least. I smile about what you wrote regarding the “overlanders” [I have come to truly despise that word!!!]. Hopefully some day we will meet. I am planning coming to the East Coast next year, one way or another! Safe Journeys… Ara and Spirit
July 30th, 2016 at 6:57 pm
You know, I am doing the same thing imagining it is winter and then on this heat does not bother me. Over 1000, yes! But it has been cool lately. Hopefully it will stay this way for the month of August. Stay well… Ara and Spirit
September 8th, 2016 at 7:08 am
Dear Ara,
I lost my 23 year old son Michael in August 2012 to a car accident. 2 years ago my daughter sent me your book. It is always on my nightstand. i have not read it all yet. I have to put it down for a awhile sometimes when my memories get too painful. I have enjoyed reading of your travels and have looked up the places you have been on the internet while reading. Your book has been a comfort to me. Thank you. I have read of your recent troubles with thieves and am so sorry to hear about that. please don’t let it discourage you from your travels. I hope you and Spirit have a wonderful day.
Leesa
September 8th, 2016 at 7:55 am
Hi Leesa… I have too often having trouble reading my own book and yet, it grounds me. My thoughts are with you, it is such a big slap… Travels will not stop as we will be leaving soon and this place I love so much is up for sale. This is no way to live as we have had 3 more burglaries these past two weeks. One day at the time… Thanks for writing. Ara and Spirit