I’ve often told folks that:
Labels are best when they are descriptions, not prescriptions.
Whenever I’m exploring a new hobby, lifestyle or professional pursuit, I tend to take on the labels associated with it to relate the experience to others. Terms like nomad, technomad, RVer, geek, location independent, fire dancer, traveler, blogger are labels that I actively use to describe myself to others – and labels I tend to see folks use to describe me. And that’s what they are – descriptions that fit current choices I’ve made in my life.
It’s important however to not get caught up in allowing labels to automatically prescribe how the future will be for you.
Why do I bring this up?
In the past couple of weeks we’ve had a number of folks respond to our announcement of subletting for 5 months this winter in St. John as some sort of drastic departure from our nomadic lifestyle. We’ve had some folks actually try to strip away our ‘nomad’ label, and say that we’re going ‘semi-nomadic’, ‘settling down’, ‘taking a break’, ‘going on a vacation’ or that we somehow no longer qualify as real nomads.
Whereas we don’t see it that way at all.
It is precisely because we’ve designed our lives to be fully mobile and nomadic that we were even able to jump on this opportunity. We view the opportunity as firmly fitting into our chosen technomadic lifestyle, just taking on a different modality of travel, lodging and substrate. It’s a new challenge, a change of pace and gives us opportunity to explore future forms of nomadism (such as our longer term goal of sailing). Many a nomad takes up temporary residence at amazing places around the world while they focus on career, community, spirituality, hobbies, volunteerism, etc. Many nomads switch up their modality of mobility from time to time.
It’s not at all outside the nomad lifestyle to consider doing exactly what we’re doing this winter.
We view our current RVer label as purely descriptive of our style of travel for the past several years. We never set out to be only RVing nomads. RVing is a style of travel that best fit our lives at the time, we have loved the balance between travel & home it provides and it may very well fit our lives in the future. But at the root of our being, we are both full of wanderlust. When we met 4 years ago, it was the pursuit of exploration via various modalities that attracted us to each other. Being technomadic is far more of a label that we continue to choose to let drive our choices – and conscious living trumps even that.
I think that because so much of our writings and involvements online has been based around our experience as RVing nomads, that a lot of folks associate RVing as being a core label for us, and how they view who we are. We’ve even had the term ‘technomad’ reflected back to us as meaning traveling via RV with tech – which it’s not. And I think we started more strongly aligning ourselves with RVing being an active and prescriptive part of our social description. And indeed, our next adventure is a departure from RVing and what that label has been for us.
I’ve started changing how we present ourselves in subtle ways – such as switching out our user icons to not include a picture of our uber cool trailer, and bringing more focus to the technomadic and lifestyle designing side of ourselves.
The lesson to be learned is to not allow ourselves to get trapped by even our own consciously selected labels. Always be agile, willing to explore and reach beyond yourself. Just because you’re doing something today, does not necessarily mean it has to define your tomorrow. And that’s the awesome thing about living a consciously constructed life – you can always change your mind!
First of all I need to share my extreme bias when it comes to the island of St. John. I’ve been there about 6 times and it has always felt like “home.” My first time staying there was at a campground. So any chance to spend 5 months there only leaves me green with envy 🙂 And I have also played around with the idea of learning to sail and living on a sailboat. I am new to the full-time lifestyle having just begun August 1st, 2013. Even though right now it feels like “it’s always something,” as I work out the kinks, I already find myself thinking about selling all those household furnishings jam packed into a storage unit that’s costing an arm and a leg.
Your article about labels struck me on a different level. After a trying divorce and a serious bout with depression, I am constantly facing this situation with my children. It seems they have created an image of me that they now work hard to keep in place. And of course selling my home, purchasing an RV and choosing this lifestyle only reinforces their view of me – Crazy!
Your wrote that, ”It’s important however to not get caught up in allowing labels to automatically prescribe how the future will be for you.” If anything, as a result of a rather dark time in my life, I’ve worked harder ”….to not get caught up in allowing labels to automatically prescribe how the future will be for [me].”
I’m looking forward to the day when my children (young adults) will come to understand this….hopefully they will, and that they will not allow other people’s labels (nor their own) to limit them in following their dreams and desires.
Thank you for articulating it as wonderfully as you did.
Continued blessings as you live YOUR life!
P.S. Are you open to visitors? 😉
Thanks for the great comment Leigh. However look at the date of the posting of the article.. we left St. John 2.5 years ago 🙂 We’re back to RVing in the US now, in a super awesome vintage bus. But we always love rendezvouses with other nomads.
Duh!! I got so distracted by the article that I didn’t pay any attention to the date. LOL Anyway, here’s another chance to say thank you! You both have served as inspiration for me. Any good suggestions on (an affordable) place to go this winter? I’m presently in NC and heading to the coast in a few days and then down to Savanna to visit a friend.
Someplace I read, “Today’s identity is tomorrow’s prison.”
It may have been (I am not sure) Harry Browne in his book _How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World_. He talks about one of the big traps in life being what he calls the Identity Trap.
A lot of the things I read here remind me of that book. I love your blog and the brave way you’re living your lives!
Totally with you. Find it kind of wierd that some people would see your trip to the Islands as a departure from your lifestyle…it’s all one big journey after all 🙂
Great post. As someone who is building a new path and trying out many things, this theme is close to my heart. As always, I really appreciate your exploring and sharing your point of view – and can’t wait for continued shares about this new chapter of your nomadism! Love your openness to whatever feels right for you.
“Nomad” or “No Nomad,” it’s all in your head. Everyone lives the life they choose whether they think they do or not! Only the person actually living the life has the right to “label” it – although for the rest of us, some labeling helps us to understand & categorize. I’m guilty as anyone as describing the two of you as “those nomads,” just to be able to express a difference in lifestyle, but have no illusions my label is the only one or the right one.
We all wander through life choosing paths & riding roads.
Wander on!
Very wise words! Thanks!
We have friends who RV who often fly someplace. We know people who take their RV to Europe to explore there. We know people who RV most of the year but still own a house. There is no RIGHT way to live any lifestyle. You do what works for you. I’m glad you chose RVing as a way of living for awhile because we got your app State Lines from that experience. Who knows what wonderful thing you will share with us next?
I have recently left a life that people think that I am suppose to be living. Don’t let anyone put you in a box. I have really enjoyed following you over the last several months and I hope that you still share glimpses of your adventures no matter if they are here in the U.S. or abroad.
Live Creatively!