In Spite Of

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I have written several posts but have not posted them because they were too much, just philosophical explorations. When we are traveling it is easier to post because I put up pictures of what I saw, and naturally what I think flows through. But it isn't solid ideas.

I love the RV lifestyle. I find myself dreaming of sitting in a desert in the winter with the weather playing a symphony on the fiberglass cocoon of my trailer, shaking and shifting me in concert with nature. I love the freedom of an RV; to go possibly anywhere, or the middle of nowhere, and still be home. I love that the RV lifestyle includes rich, poor and very poor. I love that the lines of who has resources get shifted and blurred.

I've been boondocking in a large free site outside of town. I've talked to people with a rig as expensive as a house with fit, finish, and trim as nice as any custom home.  I've talked to people with disabilities living in converted utility trailers. I've talked to people living in their cars. And they were living side-by-side.

I would like to see every town as part of their obligation to rule the people, to allow a place where it is free to live. Then deal with poor people head-on instead of shoving them into cracks and pretending they don't exist. I would like to see every town be obligated to designate a percentage of land corresponding to the percentage of people who budget a small amount for housing, for people to live in RV's if they choose. Maybe I want to live a smaller life, but it is illegal in my city. Another portion for people who want mobile homes. Make these places close to town or in it, and not by the dump. Why can poor people only live in bad places? Doesn't that add to the difficulty of trying to escape poverty?

More choices for more people. We need more living choices. Will there be more to figure out? Of course. Is that a problem?

When I owned my own business I would ask employees to vacuum the rug. I would always check and see that it was done. Many times I would find it was not. The employee would tell me something like, "Uh, the bag was full so that's why I didn't do it." Other times I had employees who told me things like, "The bag was full, so I looked for a new one but we were out, so I ran to the store and got one."

The people who stopped at the first difficulty had no guilt, they always felt 100% justified in their decision. They encountered an obstacle, they succumbed to its power over them. All you need is a valid excuse in some minds. Not mine.

I believe when we mature we see farther down the road, we stay focused on ideas rather than events. What we really can accomplish is we accomplish in spite of, not because. Too many people talking about because, not in spite of.

Here's a great "in-spite-of" RV blog. Love it. Rolling in an RV... Wheelchair Traveling.