All I Need Is My 2 Bare Feet

As I write this I am at my tent-site designated for cherry pickers, with a partial view of Lake Okanagan, through rows of trees. But more on that in another blog…

I have had a lot of great conversations with friends over my final weeks in Calgary. It’s as if my departure left a rupture in the fabric of my social network in the city. My actions have, if not inspired, then disrupted inner thoughts and provoked self-reflection among several friends. 

Apr 22, 2014 - overnight cycling camping trip with non-profit Two Wheel View. I met some really great, inspiring people in TWV, such as founder, Rick McFerrin, who cycled for 2 years around the world

I have also been doing a lot of thinking myself (for that matter, I am always thinking). One very simple question my friends have been asking me, which I am continually figuring out myself is – why? Why pick up and leave everything behind again?

After thinking this through, I can safely say that this new phase in my life I am just embarking on is for a multitude of reasons, which beautifully synergize into an all-encompassing journey whose purpose is greater than the reasons combined.

I am seeking an alternative way of living – one that achieves happiness through humble methods, and also doesn’t scar the earth, instead works with the synergy of nature to, if not leave no trace, then enhance its ecology.

Staying on my friend's organic farm in Slocan, BC. Here is happiness

Since my return from my 10 month backpacking trip to normal life in May 2013, I witnessed a slow degradation of myself into just a shell of who I was. I fell back into distractions in a big way, compromising my main interests, and taking time from doing what I most passionately wanted to do.

I noticed how the social construct of the big city broke me down and trapped everyone else in an unforgiving web of temptations, distractions, materialism and superficiality. I pondered how on an individual level, excess consumption is leading us down the wrong path to happiness. Looking at the bigger picture of our world, excess consumption combined with the force of globalization is aleading us down a path to increasing social inequality and environmental destruction.

Observing all this I couldn't just return to this life, this society of winners and losers.

I am extremely spoiled. At 30, compared to the vast majority, I have had amazing experiences and adventures already. And through these life experiences I am highly privileged to have developed an acute awareness about myself and my surroundings, and to have pushed my comfort zone to the point where nothing is impossible for me. With this privilege and awareness, I feel a handed responsibility to benefit others through my leadership and influence.

Thus, my blog - All I Need Is My 2 Bare Feet. The goals of my blog are this:

• uprooting my life, quitting my job and selling almost all my stuff will challenge the social norms and conventional paradigm
• vicariously, my experiences will expose curious readers' minds up to another life path, an outlying path yet an achievable one, hard to find yet not out of reach
• show how disconnecting from technology and connecting with nature can increase happiness, humility and sustainability
• redefine the term "rich" in the same way Bhutan measures its progress not by its GDP but by its gross domestic happiness
• I hope to evoke the great irony of travel which is that by expanding one's individual borders, one learns the meaning of community and can apply it in one's home community
• ultimately I hope to free your mind and break you out of the Matrix which is our society!

Nature has the amazing power to heal, which is why we must respect nature

On a personal level, travelling and working abroad will allow me to connect with cool people and to develop my main passion, which is currently sustainable food and permaculture. All this could lead to a career that is truly fulfilling. I will also have more free time to engage in simple passions such as reading, meditating, and just travelling in a way that I can continue to learn and grow as a person.

Isn't it ironic how I can marry all my passions together by simply doing the opposite of what everyone tells me to do? Since I left Calgary just a few days ago, I already feel reinvigorated. Like a big bang, my mind, free of distractions, is blasting out philosophical thoughts, exploding out of my skull.

Everything seems to be coming together thus far, and justify my thoughts leading up to this transformation. But who knows? Picking cherries in 40 degree heat could change my mind!

My self-titled blog is all about embarking on a journey of humility and gratitude - All I Need Is My 2 Bare Feet. And please just forget the grammatical error. Buddha once said he didn't want any temples, shrines or monuments built in his honour. But sometimes, in order to get people's attention for their own good, you need to start your own Facebook page with a snappy title!

On that note, I encourage you to follow my blog, and my new FB page: (https://www.facebook.com/AllINeedIsMy2BareFeet?skip_nax_wizard=true&ref_type=bookmark).

I hope what's to come will inspire you and change you, for the better of both your world and our beautiful earth.

Shoutout to my family for their support on my journey - I love you

Namaste,

~ Andrew