Are we meant to be nomadic?

A Life Packed Up

As the last of the boxes gets packed into the truck, ready to be transported to storage, we give each other a forlorn look. Then glance down at what we have left. A 55 litre rucksack, and a small day bag. Each. The sum total of our worldly possessions for the foreseeable future.  It leaves me to ponder, are we meant to be nomadic?

How will we cope without our many pairs of shoes, and all the coats we seem to have acquired? What about the glasses we bought for every possible drink imaginable? Did we ever use those jam jars? Not quite the same as when we first had a Pina Colada in that style of glass at a beach bar in Thailand.

Hitting the Road

Ironically, Thailand may be the place that we next get to have the very same drink. We are putting our life into storage and heading out into the world. Or are we? Strictly speaking, we are putting the material possessions we have accumulated into storage. But our life goes on. Here. In the present. And will that life be any less full, or rich, without the accoutrements of modern life to give us a sense that we have made it. 

Do you think the early nomads, perhaps the Eurasian Avars of the 5th and 6th century, had, or needed such modern accoutrements to get through life? I would suspect that even the modern nomads eschew the “benefits” we accrue as part of a capitalistic society. Wikipedia reports that in 1995 there were between 30 and 40 millions nomads across the world. 

Moving either cyclically, or periodically, nomads wander for a number of reasons. To find work. Search for food. And even avoid enemies. We will be joining them, but to look for adventure. The name nomad comes from the Latin nomad-, nomas member of a wandering pastoral people.

Moving for the fun of it

There are even people, and groups, who seem to move just for the hell of it. Some native Indian tribes in British Columbia get to the point where life is just too damn comfortable and they need a challenge. So the whole village ups sticks and starts again. Completely, and from scratch. 

And I wonder whether this is the category that I fall into. I identify with the nomadic culture. At least what we have come to term nomad in the modern age. The term has managed to garner romantic connotations. A life of freedom. And no ties. A life of adventure. Keep moving, like a rolling stone, gathering no moss.

The reality is very different. I know this, having moved numerous times in my life. The reality is that life is hard when you first move. You need to find somewhere to stay. Somewhere for your meagre possessions. Hunt down the best coffee shops. All the important things. Things that take time, and lots of effort. 

The Pay Off

But that effort is paid off. Over and over, with the personal growth you achieve. The things you learn about yourself through the process. The new places you get to explore. The connections you make. The sense of renewal you feel, like a snake shedding it’s skin. 

Travelling light, and not weighed down by things we don’t need. Carrying only what you require. And requiring only that which you can carry. When you pare back your life to just the essentials, you soon realise that the list of essentials is small. A change of clothes. A few books. And a means of making fresh coffee. If you want to live the life of a digital nomad, and earn some income whilst you travel, a good wifi connection is a great bonus, allowing you freelance as you go.

The Question

Watching the truck drive away from the apartment, and not knowing when we will see our possessions again, I’m left wondering whether I will even want to? I suddenly feel a lot lighter. Unencumbered. Free. Will I need all those boxes? Maybe just the ones that have items of personal and sentimental value. Maybe the ones that have my book collection. But those cocktail jam jars?