Winter and a place to stay (a la Blues, Creativity and Instict) ,

Ah, to you all,

I've to come that winter always brings about a huge interior turmoil. Always, without fail.
Thing is, in theory, this winter was supposed to be a little different. Only it suddenly appeared as if time had flown away startled into a deep hole-
what do I do with my life apart from travel? How do I live meaningfully when I decide to gain some roots? When will I finally give my words to a longer piece, a novel, a series of short stories?

And perhaps most importantly, where will I stay?
How to find a place now, of all times?

A couple of years ago, I was blessed to have stayed at casa for the winter. I left restored, instinctual and filled with the radical sight of what it is to live with others, to share, to encourage growth.
My dear love and I were supposed to be living in a community in western Denmark right now but it turned out to be a lot more expensive than imagined and with each day filled with work for the community which manages to squeeze out the life of the individual.
Thus..the crash and cracking of breaths.

Now it's turned to the abyss and the thought of a long hitch up to Copenhagen without even a place to stay is upon me (from eastern France). And once there, without a way to stay more than a couple of days before hopping off to the next house as I did for much of last winter until we found a place of our own in Sofia.
Where do people spend their winters? Or anywhere in any season when they decide to stop travelling? Or at least, not as intensely as years without much rest?

And talk of breaking up just so that it may be easier to find work and spirit alone - for I down south somewhere and her back in the Balkans. That it has come to do this seems ridiculous.

Well, any source of courage of wisdom would be deeply appreciated as it has been in the past with such outpourings. The comments on my thoughts on work (& the bloodclots) k here were so, so much appreciated

I hope this finds you well,
& hugs!
Jass

Comments

Jass's picture

Tamara, Robin & Jesus...thank

Tamara, Robin & Jesus...thank you..

In Poland now, at Ania's place in Wroclaw, cosy and warm with tea and biscuits, joining her family for Christmas and figuring things out after this. Denmark was a wreck as expected but a wonderful time in Berlin and a good quick trip down to Wroclaw.
Learning now that it's skills that I need, the songs of strength and courage. To head later towards a place where I can thrive but I know that once more it will take time to find..and to take my opportunities on work and nourishment when they open up. Volunteering once more draws me in and from there perhaps I can figure things out.
Just - when existence becomes a struggle; passion, tenderness and poetry is hard to find. Winter seems often to be like this as it's just so damn hard to travel like this a lot of the time without burning out quickly. Recently I've been sleeping for twelve hours every day without an ability to control it. Emotionally, physically, spiritually spent - but there are always sparks, things to get through with.

Robin, once I've figured out a real plan, I'd really like to come and see you too. I've been avoiding it as of late as I know Amsterdam is a place I could easily get marooned once more, and this wouldn't be good for anyone in these days ;) When I have somewhere to go afterwards, a real solid place, I'll swing by.

Steps, steps, steps..astonishing somehow when all it takes is a new direction and things open up. Tamara, goddamnit, one day..
Hobania sounds really great, good to know that such places exist and that I'm welcome to try them out :-)

Thanks, once more!

tammulinka's picture

t

t

tammulinka's picture

to Jass:)

wow Jass do i want to hang out with you! it will be cool to see you again when it happens. surely we'll have a lot to catch up on! i can imagine Scotland is not too appealing a destination for the winter, especially now that we have hurricanes and such, but if you ever swing by you neck of the woods again then be sure to give me a shout.

to your dilemma, i'd say just keep your eyes on the prize and always envisage the end result, not the process leading to the acquisition of it. if your passion is writing, then do as much of it as possible, and let the rest figure out itself.

you don't need to be a 'professional writer' to be a writer. anyone can be a writer. if you have a day job as a cleaner, you can still be a writer - just make sure everything about you tells what your passion is, and focus all your energy and attention to it if that's what you want to achieve. it's impossible to experience progress without lots of conscious effort, but then again, once you choose to focus your effort on a particular thing, you can achieve quite a lot!

i totally feel like i sound like a primary tutor here. i KNOW you're really passionate about writing, and that's it's surely high on your agenda every day. i'd just say, don't worry about the process, just take ownership of the present moment - and divert it in the direction you want to go. i often encounter major challenges, when i don't even know where to start and least how to get there, but all i'm left off with is to start somewhere, take a first baby step - and things usually keep figuring itself out as i go.

in terms of what to do beyond travelling, there's so much do! last summer was a time when i really discovered hitchhiking and got so excited about it such that it became the main aspiration of my life - to travel and travel and travel. i however went back to uni that September, if a little reluctantly, and haven't managed to get many more kilometres under my belt since then. despite this, i still learned so much and met loads of interesting people from whom i gained so much inspiration.

being in such a vibrant place with so many diverse people expanded my horizons greatly - i've became a lot more zealous activist on issues of social justice and responsibility. i got passionate about my academic studies, which brought me to a whole new level, i got involved in student politics and managed to challenge and renegotiate established norms and codes of practice of my uni, alongside with other people. i became a massive fan of techno/ house / electronic music, which opened a whole new world to me.

the world is so diverse, and there's so much to do on so many levels. there're issues of global importance to be worked on, there's change on community levels to be brought in, there's discourses to be had, new thoughts to be thought and critical and inspiring texts to be written. there're people to be met and to be collaborated with, there're people to be shut down and people to be empowered. there's work to be done and fun to be had.

i'm sure you know yourself what you want to do, and you wouldn't accept other people imposing their ideas on you anyway. if you're not really sure, then just take a baby step into the unknown… and then follow with another one. i'm sure you'll do great.

to all you Casa Robino family - i'm already itching to reconnect with you. you've changed my life in some many different ways and all have a deep imprint in my heart.

jesus's picture

Choosing what is right for you...

Communities, there's many... Places to go, way too many. Actually, for the seasoned traveller, there's no limit to where you can go next, unless one is imposed temporarily by your current financial situation or immigration status, both of which are likely to change, thus eliminating the temporary limit.

The question is not where you can go. The question is more where you need to go. The need being imposed by your own psychology and character. This question can only really be answered by you. You need to ask yourself some questions, to find what you really want out of life, be it travelling or settled.

Out of the way too many communities of all kinds out there, most won't satisfy you. You can easily have a good time in most of them for a couple of days, but to stay for a whole winter, it has to be the right place for you. The right place also varies, depending on your current psychology. If you feel strong, healthy and creative, most likely you'll want to be in a place where you can use your creative energy on something. If you're burned out and tired, you'd prefer a place where you can just comfortably chill out and feel safe, without needing to fight too much for your survival.

In brighter times, you might enjoy the survivalist lifestyle, where just staying alive can take up all your time, and making the most of it as a learning experience. But at other times, you just really want your food served in your plate for you. There's a place and time for everything. Most communities also change with time. In some places people will take care of you, in others they won't. In some places where people would normally take care of you, due to unforeseen circumstances, they might be unable to do so now. Your best bet is trying to communicate your needs before showing up in a place where you'd like to winter out.

Group dynamics play an important part as well.. If all 20 inhabitants of a community have retreated there because they need to be taken care of, it might be a bit weird trying to get anything done, even the very basics.

Unfortunately, the only way to really find out if a certain place is the right place for you, is to go there and see for yourself. It could be a matter of luck, or a matter of careful planning. You could explore different places during each summer so you will know where you can safely winter out.

Winters are presumably harder because the weather means you have to fight harder for your survival. But at some point, the end of the road comes for everyone. For some people it is when they die. For others, when they burn out completely from too much travelling.

To put in some gypsy wisdom, with the way the world has progressed, it is close to impossible to pursue a truly sustainable travelling lifestyle nowadays. So most people need somewhere to settle, if not permanently, at least temporarily while recharging.

I've lived the best part of 8 years now travelling almost non-stop, shorter distances at first and globally shortly after. I'm completely burned out now. I can't go on doing what I used to do. I've grown too old to put up with all the hardships of the road. My health is letting me down way too often nowadays. So I left Berlin, my last travelling port of call, and have finally returned to Great Hobonia, the only place where I really feel safe. But that's a safe haven according to my own personal criteria. It doesn't mean that it would be ideal for everyone. I've adjusted my life here to require the minimum amount of effort for survival, so I can choose if and when I want to actually get off my ass and do something. I see this as a temporary measure, as I'm normally very happy doing loads of things. It's just that I now need some time off from life. I still live gypsy-style, I sleep in my bus every night, parked up in the garden. I can't let go of that. This is my life. But I just can't take my bus across continents like I used to anymore. I'll keep on sleeping in it though, and if I feel like it, drive a bit, mostly shorter distances. I'm also debating whether to adopt a donkey in the very near future, to mark my settling down process and "grow some roots". It might also open up a whole different world of travelling, in the original gypsy style, with a donkey-drawn wagon, if I choose to go far again. Or not. I might never leave Great Hobonia again. I wouldn't mind. After all, when you've been everywhere a hundred times, it kind of loses its novelty factor, and becomes less and less attractive every time.

Some people completely change their ideas after seeing that things didn't work out like they wanted to. Others stay the same and keep on fighting. Others change small things, but keep the basic ideas the same. Don't be afraid to choose whatever is best for you. If you need to get a good job and buy a house and a car, marry someone and have three kids, do it. If you want to hitch to Vladivostok and settle in a bender tent in the middle of Siberia, do it. Just try to see what it is that your body and mind are trying to tell you, and go with that.

You're welcome to come over if you'd like. Can't promise you'll like it, or that it can offer anything of what you might need, but you could give it a shot. At least it's not too cold down here in the dirty south. With a bit of luck, there might be a full-on revolution and civil war soon around these here parts and you might discover the hidden Subcommandante Marcos inside you...

Good luck, as always..

robino's picture

you didn't read the post just

you didn't read the post just under yours?
http://casarobino.org/2011/12/great-hobonia

And around the corner there is also:
http://sustainablepost.org/mailbox/lightfoot-community

:)

I would be happy to see you for a few days in between. It's been long ago since we've seen each other.