I want a LHBA home but old age and necessity changed things.
Ok, the short version: I took the class in 2007. In 2009, burned out (mentally and physically) I sold my thriving chiro clinic and hung up my hands in the Chiropractic profession. I bought some land (27 acres of beauty) in the CO Rockies, got me a 20 foot round tipi and did some bare-bones living. No luxuries. And it was dang cold in winter. Yeah, I made adjustments as I went-had to and it was a great challenge. Moreso it was just what I needed to awaken my lost soul. I escaped the friggin' rat race which I've always hated. But I paid a price. Was it all worth it ? Hell Yeah.
Dreams of a B&P home followed me. I made plans but never got over the hump. My savings was all exhausted and I was somewhat spoiled as I no longer wanted to do the 9 to 5 gig anymore or run my own business. I didn't want to WORK for a living at all. The freedom I found was appealing to me. The "work" I wanted to do was take care of myself -survive on my own means. My days and nights consisted of "survival." I got up when the sun came up and went to bed when it went down. I grew veggies and herbs in summer and hunted for food. I cooked over a open fire. Starting a fire and preparing breakfast took about an hour (maybe more in bad weather. But it was somehow fun and exciting to me. No rushing around,no need for a clock or deadlines. My only concern for time was when night came and when dawn broke. Monitoring the weather was paramount as things can get ugly in The Rockies at 9400 feet up, winter or summer. I lived by my own rules. I answered to no one. Like when I was a kid, I could breathe again and I could put all the bullshit behind me in regards to "making a living." Damn, I hate that term.
I met a wise old man he said that in the end, you don't so much find yourself - but you find someone who knows who you really are. Don't spend all of your time trying to FIND yourself. Spend your time CREATING yourself into a person that you'll be proud of. The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself so it's said. Follow your heart and don't look back.
So, I didn't get that B&P home that I wanted and I finally took down what was left of my tipi that was badly weather-beaten over 9 years or so. I changed and grew a bit over those years and I settled for a small cozy cabin made of sticks. And, well, it is log-sided- so maybe that kinda' makes me feel better. And it's paid for too - building it from cash only. I have no debt at all and boy does that feel good. My life has changed - or better said, life changed me. Funny how that stuff happens.
Looking back, times were tough, I questioned just what in the hell I was doing and where I was going. My friends (if that's what you'd call them) said I went bonkers or that I was going through a mid-life crisis. Yeah, Whatever. What was I trying to prove ? I don't know and I didn't care. Who was I trying to impress ? No one, but myself maybe. In fact, most people had no idea what I was really doing as I had checked out the new age world, which I was wrongfully thrown into when I came to this planet in 1958.
I've always said I was born in the wrong era. If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I had another life somewhere in the years 1500-1800's. I've felt this way since I was about 5 years old, always looking for a creek to play around or some remote woods to hike around and explore. My attraction was horses (all animals n fact) dirt roads and falling in love with old Western movies and dreaming of being right there. Explore ? Yes, I like to think of myself as an Explorer. An Explorer with some freedom - freedom to do whatever the hell I wanted -and not be thrown into a modern day Prison Planet. How boring. Go to school (get programmed) watch TV (more programming) attend college (go into debt) and then have a "career"(whatever the hell that means). Learn how to obey, learn how to jump through meaningless hoops, give up your privacy, suck up to authoritative figures who can make your life a living hell, if you don't do as they wish. Or get too far "out of line" and they throw you in a goddang cage.
Well, I did it all that crap, became very successful (whatever that means) but never found true happiness. Life was still empty for me and as I got older I knew I wanted out . So out I went. My tipi life was the best thing I've ever done for myself.
I started taking care of me, I started feeding my soul and stopped trying to please others. And I stopped trying to be someone I was not. Money didn't interest me, neither did all the toys (new cars, boats, bikes etc). Nor did fancy or fake people. I found 99% of the people dis-interesting and I no longer had anything in common with them (sports, politics, TV shows, video-games, fashion, etc). Things like sitting by a babbling creek and watching birds got me excited. Watching the clouds swirl into storms, sitting by a campfire with my faithful dog was the simple pleasures I craved. So I distanced myself. I liked that. And I liked the silence. Silence is Holy stuff. Silence opens a person up to a completely different world. Shut off all the noise. Todays world is too damn noisy. A man can't think. It's a huge distraction. I avoid noisy places like the plague. Once you enter the quietness of Nature there is nothing better. I am now hyper-sensitive to noise. I hate it. I avoid it.
OK, I said this was the short version of my story, OK, OK.
Anway, Instead of my LHBA home I settled for a little cabin. Here she is. It's dried in, warm and paid for. I'll finish it when I can.Once I got it dried in, I slacked off. I do home remodeling full-time (self employed) and the last thing I want to do in my off-time is pick up a hammer. So, it's been slow-to-go. But hey, that's OK because I'm in no hurry. That's the nice thing about it. No deadlines, no pushing myself. Just live day to day. It's nice to just breathe somedays - and stare out the window by the woodstove. Ahhh. So that's it for now. I'll post a few pics asap. Work ? I work for a bit, i.e. take on a bathroom remodel, make some good dough then I get to screw off for a few months or more. That's my new "career." And in 2 years, I'll take back some of the social security money that those gangsters in the white house stole from me. And I won't have to "work" much at all. I'm on the downhill now. I've done just about everything but raise a family. And maybe that will be my final chapter. Getting old is great, don't fall into the trap of being a grumpy SOB, too many of those out there. Stay active, eat good, have a beer, enjoy it all. I' maybe good for another 20 years or I might kick the bucket tonight. But anyway ya slice it, I'm going out with a smile on my face. And a brand new pair of wings, yessiree.
