By Bob Wells
February, 2011
Mankind's concept of comfort has changed drastically over the eons. At the dawn
of humans, nature generally met all our needs, but life was hard, and we had very
little comfort. When we discovered fire, our comfort level greatly increased, we
could stay warm, cook food, see in the dark, and keep predators away at night. We
must have thought we were in heaven! Later we developed tools, pottery and metal
work, each of which made our lives easier. Nature met all our needs and each
new discovery made us safer and more comfortable. Again, each improvement
must have made them think they reached the pinnacle of human life. It couldn't get
any better than this! Anthropologists tell us that hunter-gatherers led reasonably
comfortable, good lives for the last 40,000 years, right up until modern times. For
example, when Europeans first encountered Native Americans, they found that the
lives of the indigenous peoples were so good and happy that they rejected "modern
civilization" as a giant step backward from the marvelous lives they were already
living. We had to slaughter and enslave them to get them to take any part in our
"better way of life."
Then, 4,000 years ago, in some parts of the world, humans abandoned that
idyllicCivilizationdomesticated animals and plants. From that came farms, cities
and civilizations. For the first time, something that made us more comfortable also
took us away from our connection with nature. Strangely, for the majority of
people, their lives didn't get easier, it actually got harder. Farming was a much
harder life than being a hunter-gatherer. Civilization brought class struggles and
while a very small minority of people lived in comfort and luxury, the great
majority remained stable at a low comfort level for a long time. Not until the
industrial revolution did we make the next leap forward. With the advent of mass-
produced machinery, our comfort level took a gigantic leap forward. We could buy
machines that did much of the tedious work of life for us, giving us more time and a
physically easier life. The 1900's saw one amazing invention after the other that
made our lives continually more comfortable and a large middle-class who could
afford to buy it. Somewhere in the last century, the Western world reached the
point where the majority of us were extremely comfortable but that was no longer
good enough. We started to demand luxuries, whatever it took to get them. The
more luxuries we had, the less we tolerated any discomfort in our lives. We
wanted what we wanted, and we want it right now! Today, many undeveloped
countries (especially China and India with their huge populations) see the opulent
lives of Westerners, and demand a piece of the pie for themselves.
The problem is, all these modern comforts and luxuries put a huge and unbearable
demand on the earths resources. If six billion people are going to live in total
luxury, the earths resources will all be consumed and its biosphere destroyed with
toxic pollution. Quite simply, the human race will be wiped-out. That isn't
hyperbole, it is simple common sense. If the small population of the developed
West has done the huge amount of damage to the earth we see in 2011, how much
worse will it be if we extend that damage to all the peoples of the world? So what
are we going to do, tell the developing world that we have ours and we won't
reduce our demand for luxuries, but they can't get theirs and must do without?
They must remain in the stone-age so we can live in luxury! Of course that isn't
acceptable to anybody.
If we are serious about living in harmony with nature, and seeing real improvement
to the environment, we must all reduce our expectations regarding personal
comfort. We must learn to be content with our basic needs met, and some comfort,
but our current life of luxury must come to an end.
Your first reaction may be, "Wait a minute, you said living green will make my life
better and I would be happier. How can giving up comfort possibly make my life
better!?" Granted, it is counter-intuitive, but it is true, in the process of giving up
some comforts and most luxuries, your life will be vastly improved. Here's the key
to making sense out of the paradox, the comforts you will give up are very surface
level, in fact most of them pertain to your bodies comfort. What you will gain in
their place are deeply felt inner pleasures like joy, peace and contentment. For
example, Native Americans saw that what the Europeans offered were surface
level only comfort, but at a deeper level, they had nothing that appealed to any
indigenous person.
Unfortunately, everything in our modern consumer society conspires to shout the
need for comfort above everything else, and it's packaged in such an appealing
way, it becomes almost irresistible. So much so, that the possibility of having a
sense of deep joy and peace simply gets drowned out, to our great detriment. This
entire website is dedicated to developing a deeper inner life through breaking
out of the surface-only, consumer rat race by living in a vehicle, and it is going
to involve giving up some comfort. When we give up those comforts, one result
will be that the damage we do individually to the earth will be greatly reduced.
Comfort and Mobile Living
Just how much comfort you will give up depends on what vehicle you choose to
live in. If you live in a car or van, you won't have running water so you can't take a
shower. The space is so tiny you can own very little stuff. Your entertainment
options will be greatly reduced. On the other hand, if you live in a RV, even a
small one, you can have many more comforts including a shower, air conditioning,
microwave, and more space and things. However, I firmly believe that the smaller
the vehicle you choose the happier you will be, even with less comforts. The
advantages of a small vehicle like a car, van, or pickup are numerous:
A large RV can be quite comfortable, but there will still be sacrifices. It will have
what you need but not much more. Unless you get into the very most expensive
RVs, it won't have many luxuries.
When I first moved into a box van in Anchorage, Alaska I knew immediately that
my life was going to be less comfortable. Even though it was summer, the evenings
were cool and I could feel the cold creeping in through the thin metal walls. The
next day when the sun was up the sun beating on the metal shell made the van quite
hot. There was no bed, what would I sleep on? When the wind blew, the van
shook, when it rained, the roof screamed. For some reason the ravens loved my
van, on a weekly basis one would land on the roof of the van and walk around with
his claws clacking on the roof. There was no toilet, how was I going to urinate or
defecate? There was no shower, how was I going to stay clean? There was no
kitchen, how would I cook or wash dishes? How would I get rid of my garbage?
Then October came. Unfortunately, it was an unusually cold winter. In October it
fell below zero Fahrenheit and stayed there. Later there were weeks of -30 F.
temperatures. Dealing with that kind of cold was a real learning experience.
Initially, my life was very uncomfortable, but over a period of time I found
solutions to all these problems (we look at the solutions in other parts of this
website). As I found solutions, my life became more comfortable, although it was
never as comfortable as my life living in a house. I even had a few luxuries. I
bought a deep cycle battery and a generator so I had electricity. That let me buy a
TV and a antenna so I could watch it. My young sons visited a lot, so I bought
them a VCR to watch movies, and a Nintendo so they could play games.
Eventually I even had a microwave, the ultimate luxury! So I had enough comfort,
but my negative impact on the planet was drastically reduced.
I discovered that houses literally insulate us from nature. They separate us from it
and create a false environment where we can't be touched by the discomfort it
inevitably brings. Let's face it, nature is generally not very comfortable. For a few
hours a day, for a few months a year it is wonderful beyond words, but the rest of
the time we have to work at being comfortable. Unfortunately, humans can't be
happy if they are separated from nature, so being happy means giving up some
comfort. Our increasingly huge homes steal our motivation to get outside into
nature. On the other hand, living in a car, van, or RV greatly encourages you to get
out of the house! Today, I walk in the desert or forest at least two hours a day, but
it all started years ago when my sons visited me in by box van. We found that we
needed to get out of the tiny space of the van, so we started spending a lot of time
in city parks. I could park the van in shade under the trees where it stayed cool,
and the boys and I could run and play in the park.
As an Alaskan, I had spent a lot of time hiking, backpacking, rafting, flying and
hunting all over my marvelous state. But when I moved into my van, it felt like I
was much more connected to nature than I ever had been before. All of those
experiences were for a brief period of time and then I was right back to the
isolation of a house. But living in the van, nature become an intimate part of my
daily, even hourly existence. I am sure that is a big part of why I love living in a
small vehicle so much. We all need much more of nature in our lives. My mental
and emotional states drastically improved the more time I spent in it. Many years
later, after I had retired and left the city far behind, I found a way to live year
around in nature by becoming a campground host in the National Forests in the
summer, and living on BLM desert land in the winter. On the surface, I live without
many comforts that the typical American takes for granted. But like the Native
Americans of the 1800's, the only way you could get me to give up my mobile life
for the "American Dream," is to enslave me or kill me. Words fail me to tell you
how much my life has improved at a deep emotional and spiritual level. The best I
can do is say that at the cellular level, in my deepest being, I am at peace. No
amount of comfort or luxury is worth giving that up for.
February, 2011
Mankind's concept of comfort has changed drastically over the eons. At the dawn
of humans, nature generally met all our needs, but life was hard, and we had very
little comfort. When we discovered fire, our comfort level greatly increased, we
could stay warm, cook food, see in the dark, and keep predators away at night. We
must have thought we were in heaven! Later we developed tools, pottery and metal
work, each of which made our lives easier. Nature met all our needs and each
new discovery made us safer and more comfortable. Again, each improvement
must have made them think they reached the pinnacle of human life. It couldn't get
any better than this! Anthropologists tell us that hunter-gatherers led reasonably
comfortable, good lives for the last 40,000 years, right up until modern times. For
example, when Europeans first encountered Native Americans, they found that the
lives of the indigenous peoples were so good and happy that they rejected "modern
civilization" as a giant step backward from the marvelous lives they were already
living. We had to slaughter and enslave them to get them to take any part in our
"better way of life."
Then, 4,000 years ago, in some parts of the world, humans abandoned that
idyllicCivilizationdomesticated animals and plants. From that came farms, cities
and civilizations. For the first time, something that made us more comfortable also
took us away from our connection with nature. Strangely, for the majority of
people, their lives didn't get easier, it actually got harder. Farming was a much
harder life than being a hunter-gatherer. Civilization brought class struggles and
while a very small minority of people lived in comfort and luxury, the great
majority remained stable at a low comfort level for a long time. Not until the
industrial revolution did we make the next leap forward. With the advent of mass-
produced machinery, our comfort level took a gigantic leap forward. We could buy
machines that did much of the tedious work of life for us, giving us more time and a
physically easier life. The 1900's saw one amazing invention after the other that
made our lives continually more comfortable and a large middle-class who could
afford to buy it. Somewhere in the last century, the Western world reached the
point where the majority of us were extremely comfortable but that was no longer
good enough. We started to demand luxuries, whatever it took to get them. The
more luxuries we had, the less we tolerated any discomfort in our lives. We
wanted what we wanted, and we want it right now! Today, many undeveloped
countries (especially China and India with their huge populations) see the opulent
lives of Westerners, and demand a piece of the pie for themselves.
The problem is, all these modern comforts and luxuries put a huge and unbearable
demand on the earths resources. If six billion people are going to live in total
luxury, the earths resources will all be consumed and its biosphere destroyed with
toxic pollution. Quite simply, the human race will be wiped-out. That isn't
hyperbole, it is simple common sense. If the small population of the developed
West has done the huge amount of damage to the earth we see in 2011, how much
worse will it be if we extend that damage to all the peoples of the world? So what
are we going to do, tell the developing world that we have ours and we won't
reduce our demand for luxuries, but they can't get theirs and must do without?
They must remain in the stone-age so we can live in luxury! Of course that isn't
acceptable to anybody.
If we are serious about living in harmony with nature, and seeing real improvement
to the environment, we must all reduce our expectations regarding personal
comfort. We must learn to be content with our basic needs met, and some comfort,
but our current life of luxury must come to an end.
Your first reaction may be, "Wait a minute, you said living green will make my life
better and I would be happier. How can giving up comfort possibly make my life
better!?" Granted, it is counter-intuitive, but it is true, in the process of giving up
some comforts and most luxuries, your life will be vastly improved. Here's the key
to making sense out of the paradox, the comforts you will give up are very surface
level, in fact most of them pertain to your bodies comfort. What you will gain in
their place are deeply felt inner pleasures like joy, peace and contentment. For
example, Native Americans saw that what the Europeans offered were surface
level only comfort, but at a deeper level, they had nothing that appealed to any
indigenous person.
Unfortunately, everything in our modern consumer society conspires to shout the
need for comfort above everything else, and it's packaged in such an appealing
way, it becomes almost irresistible. So much so, that the possibility of having a
sense of deep joy and peace simply gets drowned out, to our great detriment. This
entire website is dedicated to developing a deeper inner life through breaking
out of the surface-only, consumer rat race by living in a vehicle, and it is going
to involve giving up some comfort. When we give up those comforts, one result
will be that the damage we do individually to the earth will be greatly reduced.
Comfort and Mobile Living
Just how much comfort you will give up depends on what vehicle you choose to
live in. If you live in a car or van, you won't have running water so you can't take a
shower. The space is so tiny you can own very little stuff. Your entertainment
options will be greatly reduced. On the other hand, if you live in a RV, even a
small one, you can have many more comforts including a shower, air conditioning,
microwave, and more space and things. However, I firmly believe that the smaller
the vehicle you choose the happier you will be, even with less comforts. The
advantages of a small vehicle like a car, van, or pickup are numerous:
- Your fuel economy may drastically improve, so you can travel more and
enjoy more beautiful scenery in various places. The total lower costs may
allow you to work less giving you much more free time. - Or, instead of driving more, a smaller vehicle will let you get further back
into the back-country where you can sit in seclusion in a beautiful place,
which will greatly reduce your need for money. - Repairs will be cheaper. There are so many vans and pickups that the cost of
repair is held to a reasonable price. But RVs are heavy equipment and there
aren't many of them, so their cost of parts and service is much higher. - Smaller vehicles will let you stealth park in cities. By that we mean over-
nighting in cities without drawing attention to yourself. I try to avoid cities,
but there are times I simply have to be in one. Some people have no choice
but stay and work in cities so stealth is critical to them. - Smaller vehicles are much easier to drive. For example, I went to tour
Washington DC with my pickup and camper. Washington is justly famous for
its terrible traffic, and while it wasn't fun, I was able to get around with no
problem in the pickup. Had I been in a large RV, it would have been very
difficult, or impossible. (By the way, Washington DC is a fabulous trip! I
highly recommend it, especially in April during the Cherry Blossom Festival.) - By virtue of their limited space, you can't have as much stuff. You will be
better off mentally, emotionally, and spiritually with less stuff, and the earth
will rejoice! - There is a "peace" in a tiny, primitive space, that I can't describe or explain.
It just feels so "right." My last two vehicle-homes have been very small. I
lived in a 6 foot by 7 foot camper on a 4x4 pickup for 3 years. It was crude
and the absolute minimum of space, but I loved it! It was the best home I have
ever lived in. Currently I live in a 6 foot by 10 foot converted cargo trailer
and it is much larger and nicer and that is a good thing, but I must admit
sometimes I miss the old home. Occasionally I will visit friends in very small
RV's, and they have so many more comforts than I do, but it just doesn't feel
right. It feels sterile, too much like a house. I can't imagine living in one. But
that is strictly a personal prejudice of my own.
A large RV can be quite comfortable, but there will still be sacrifices. It will have
what you need but not much more. Unless you get into the very most expensive
RVs, it won't have many luxuries.
- Even the largest RV is quite a bit smaller than most homes and apartments so
there will still be a paring down of stuff process. - They will generally have all the normal comfort items we expect in a home,
but they will be smaller and more crowded. For example, the bathroom in
particular is almost always much smaller than what you had at home. It will
be adequate, but no more. In the same way, the kitchen will be adequate, but
no more. - Unless you are willing to boondock, you will have to stay in RV parks. In
nearly all RV parks, the spaces assigned to each RV are very small. You will
be very close to your neighbors and their vehicles coming and going. The
walls on RVs are fairly thin, so you will hear most of your neighbors
activities and they will hear yours. There isn't much privacy in a RV park. - If you don't want to be in an RV park, you will have to boondock. By that we
mean camp overnight without hook-ups. So you won't have electricity, sewer
or water. That creates some discomfort. You must be very careful in your use
of each, or be willing to get into town fairly often to dump your tanks and fill
up on fresh water.
When I first moved into a box van in Anchorage, Alaska I knew immediately that
my life was going to be less comfortable. Even though it was summer, the evenings
were cool and I could feel the cold creeping in through the thin metal walls. The
next day when the sun was up the sun beating on the metal shell made the van quite
hot. There was no bed, what would I sleep on? When the wind blew, the van
shook, when it rained, the roof screamed. For some reason the ravens loved my
van, on a weekly basis one would land on the roof of the van and walk around with
his claws clacking on the roof. There was no toilet, how was I going to urinate or
defecate? There was no shower, how was I going to stay clean? There was no
kitchen, how would I cook or wash dishes? How would I get rid of my garbage?
Then October came. Unfortunately, it was an unusually cold winter. In October it
fell below zero Fahrenheit and stayed there. Later there were weeks of -30 F.
temperatures. Dealing with that kind of cold was a real learning experience.
Initially, my life was very uncomfortable, but over a period of time I found
solutions to all these problems (we look at the solutions in other parts of this
website). As I found solutions, my life became more comfortable, although it was
never as comfortable as my life living in a house. I even had a few luxuries. I
bought a deep cycle battery and a generator so I had electricity. That let me buy a
TV and a antenna so I could watch it. My young sons visited a lot, so I bought
them a VCR to watch movies, and a Nintendo so they could play games.
Eventually I even had a microwave, the ultimate luxury! So I had enough comfort,
but my negative impact on the planet was drastically reduced.
I discovered that houses literally insulate us from nature. They separate us from it
and create a false environment where we can't be touched by the discomfort it
inevitably brings. Let's face it, nature is generally not very comfortable. For a few
hours a day, for a few months a year it is wonderful beyond words, but the rest of
the time we have to work at being comfortable. Unfortunately, humans can't be
happy if they are separated from nature, so being happy means giving up some
comfort. Our increasingly huge homes steal our motivation to get outside into
nature. On the other hand, living in a car, van, or RV greatly encourages you to get
out of the house! Today, I walk in the desert or forest at least two hours a day, but
it all started years ago when my sons visited me in by box van. We found that we
needed to get out of the tiny space of the van, so we started spending a lot of time
in city parks. I could park the van in shade under the trees where it stayed cool,
and the boys and I could run and play in the park.
As an Alaskan, I had spent a lot of time hiking, backpacking, rafting, flying and
hunting all over my marvelous state. But when I moved into my van, it felt like I
was much more connected to nature than I ever had been before. All of those
experiences were for a brief period of time and then I was right back to the
isolation of a house. But living in the van, nature become an intimate part of my
daily, even hourly existence. I am sure that is a big part of why I love living in a
small vehicle so much. We all need much more of nature in our lives. My mental
and emotional states drastically improved the more time I spent in it. Many years
later, after I had retired and left the city far behind, I found a way to live year
around in nature by becoming a campground host in the National Forests in the
summer, and living on BLM desert land in the winter. On the surface, I live without
many comforts that the typical American takes for granted. But like the Native
Americans of the 1800's, the only way you could get me to give up my mobile life
for the "American Dream," is to enslave me or kill me. Words fail me to tell you
how much my life has improved at a deep emotional and spiritual level. The best I
can do is say that at the cellular level, in my deepest being, I am at peace. No
amount of comfort or luxury is worth giving that up for.
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What's the use of a fine house if
you haven't got a tolerable
planet to put it on?
Henry David Thoreau
you haven't got a tolerable
planet to put it on?
Henry David Thoreau
Most of the luxuries and many of
the so-called comforts of life are
not only not indispensable, but
positive hindrances to the
elevation of mankind
Henry David Thoreau
the so-called comforts of life are
not only not indispensable, but
positive hindrances to the
elevation of mankind
Henry David Thoreau
There is a sufficiency in the
world for man's need but not for
man's greed. Mohandas K. Gandhi
world for man's need but not for
man's greed. Mohandas K. Gandhi
Civilization is a limitless
multiplication of unnecessary
necessities. - Mark Twain
multiplication of unnecessary
necessities. - Mark Twain
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If we are serious about
living in harmony with
nature, and seeing real
improvement to the
environment, we must all
reduce our expectations
regarding personal
comfort. We must learn to
be content with our basic
needs met, and some
comfort, but our current
life of luxury must come to
an end.
living in harmony with
nature, and seeing real
improvement to the
environment, we must all
reduce our expectations
regarding personal
comfort. We must learn to
be content with our basic
needs met, and some
comfort, but our current
life of luxury must come to
an end.
Unnecessary possessions
are unnecessary burdens.
If you have them, you have
to take care of them!
There is great freedom in
simplicity of living.
It is those who have enough
but not too much who are
the happiest. Peace Pilgrim
are unnecessary burdens.
If you have them, you have
to take care of them!
There is great freedom in
simplicity of living.
It is those who have enough
but not too much who are
the happiest. Peace Pilgrim
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