Tribe
November 23, 2008 by admin
Filed under Independent Travel, Loving-Kindness
The 3 Amigos
I have been very fortunate in my life.
I am especially grateful for the wonderful friends I am blessed with– friends who are nomadic and loyal and who share my Hobopoet lifestyle.
We now have, in fact, quite a little nomadic tribe– which grows every year.
My first travel-buddy was my best friend Kristin. We have shared a lot of adventures… and have wandered all over the world together. We met in Georgia (USA), moved to South Carolina (USA) together, lived in Korea & taught English together, travelled in Thailand & India…..
Later, Todd/Sky joined us in our wanderings. As longtime readers know, the three of us (the “3 Amigos” pictured above) moved to Thailand together and lived there for 2 years.
In Thailand, our good friend Wat joined us. The four of us moved to San Francisco a few years ago. We joined another friend (from South Carolina)– Todd’s best friend Lewis. All five of us live in SF now.
Recently, Todd, Wat, Lewis,… and two other friends (Zach and Rinny) bought land on an island in Thailand (Koh Payam… near Ranong). They are building a little Hobopoet Sanctuary there– a tropical island retreat for the Winter.
Why am I writing about this? To show that a Hobopoet life does not have to be a solo or lonely affair. Mainstream people used to criticize this free life by claiming it was lonely. But my life is full of incredible friends… who have not only traveled with me… they have joined me living abroad in Korea, Thailand, Japan, and San Francisco (SF is a little like “living abroad” 
To paraphrase Thoreau,: When you advance confidently towards your dreams… the world/universe/tao/god opens up to you. You are blessed with incredible abundance. You meet like-minded people who are on a similar path to their dreams.
That has been, for me, the most rewarding part of this journey– the incredible friends I’ve made along the way.
This sounds (almost?) like exaggeration to me.
Being social, to feel comfortable (instead of stressed, to various degrees) around people, to meet and to make friends is definitely a problem for me.
Even though I lived to realise my dreams, I didn’t meet anybody with whom I was compatible enough to become good long term friends.
I wonder whether this is just my unusual (genetic) make-up, trait, or whether this can- and needs to be treated.
I wonder whether people prefer consumerism to human relationships, because they feel more estranged, the more independent from each other and individualised they become.
increasingly large crowds, resp. overpopulation likely plays a part in this too.
On the other hand, its need (whatever sort of) that binds people together.
It seems nowadays, its comfort that is at the bottom of motivation.
As people need to change voluntarily, they need to get to know new practices and routines with which they feel comfortable with.
Apparently most people need a crisis to escape the trap of consumerism.
But how did you find/meet your friends, by pure coincidence?