I long for the days of peaceful living that’s outside of the norm for most people. As I watch human beings become more distant, and withdrawn from their families, community, and everyday life I start to realize that most of us could benefit from a little detachment from the abundance that’s in our face every day.
They say that absences makes the heart grow fonder, and one could use this saying towards every day luxuries we have such as running water, electricity, or toilets. You see. human beings didn’t always have these luxuries and yet here we are taking them for granted.
One may say that they don’t have abundance, that they’re poor and cannot afford bills, or afford this or that. It’s true. That’s a sad place to be in. I have been in it many times, and I am sure most of you have, unless you’ve had the luxury to be born into abundance that is everlasting in many ways, then God bless you for being so lucky. I say that with all of my love, not envy.
You see, I don’t feel envious nor do I feel boastful. Most of the time I live a life there I feel curious, impressed, compassionate, kind, and loving towards all of my fellow human beings. One reason I think I can maintain this simple level of love for all of mankind (listen, that doesn’t mean I like everyone, but I can love without having to be around every human, ya know), is because I do pause often to be still and enjoy the abundance we have.
The roof that doesn’t leak, the electricity & wifi that allow you to make money and earn an education online if you choose to, and the ever available food out there in the world. It’s crazy to think some people go without food. After all, most of us toss away so much extra food and take it for granted, that we could use those extra portions to feed a family less in need.
I am aiming to be better and do better like that.
I invite you to do the same.
But my first challenge is to ask you to get away from it all. Get away from as many of the luxuries and abundance things we have in our every day life. Step away from it all and rough it out for a night or two.
Grab a tent, or maybe a motorhome if you must, but do not use all of the extras. Instead, learn how to cook food over a fire (something we often did when we were homeless in 2019), build a shelter that protects you from the elements, maybe like a tent or lean to, and learn how to work together as a family to go back old school and re-learn what It was (kind of) like back in the good ole days.
Camping Allows you to Be one with Nature
The first benefit that I always love about camping is that you can be one with nature. I come with a belief system that we are all connected. I just have this feeling that this is truth. I won’t get into details, as it’s hard to explain that inner feeling of connection to mankind, unless you also feel it.
Camping allows you to try to get a little closer to that universal connection that we are all part of nature and living things are indeed all connected in some way.
Camping helps you detach from the stressors of your life that you didn’t even know you had.
Sometimes when I go camping I realize how stressed I was in my living situation. It’s like spending 1 full day in nature (just 1 day) can relax my soul in such a way that I didn’t even know I needed. I know some of you will say nature stresses you out, the bugs, the creepy crawlers, the howls of the coytoes at night, and so forth, but give it time and an open mind.
You will find that camping can indeed help you de-stress but perhaps not every human is meant to experience this deep level of connection and relaxation. That’s OK too, but I pray you will at least try it out.
Camping Helps Solidify the Family Bond
Last, but surely not least, camping can help you solidify the family bond. When you have to work together to set up a tent, or campsite (yes, even motorhome camping requires a campsite setup), you find that your family connection strengthens.
For those who didn’t know, my 2 sons’ Dad and I reunited in 2019 during a homeless chapter (we both ended up facing being homeless around the same time, and eventually reuinted our family). With that being said, we learned so much during our 5.5 months of being homeless, especially the times we had to sleep in tents at campgrounds (we didn’t have our motorhome back then) and in our vehicles overnight for a couple of weeks.
Camping helps the entire family unwind and connect doing tasks they typically wouldn’t do or be able to experience when they’re home in their regular environment.
So, if you haven’t gone camping EVER, or it’s ben a while; I invite you to get out there and enjoy a little free time in the world of wildlife, nature, and campfires. It will help you rejuvenate, and refresh so that you can appreciate more of the life you’ve built in this season.