“A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?”--Albert Einstein

If, as a child, I had answered the question of what I want to do with my life by saying:

"Well, I think I'll work for about forty or fifty years at a job that I really don't like, so I can barely make enough money to pay for things I don't need, and then when I'm done working I'll go home and spend most of my time taking care of all that stuff I don't need."

-you probably would have been quite worried, or perhaps just thought me to be pretty precocious.

Most likely you would've expected me to answer with some sort of childhood dream. A dream like, I want to be an astronaut (never mind the fact that NASA only picks 20 or so every few years) or a firefighter, or my actual dream which was to be a secret agent or spy for the government by day while being a Rock Star at night (think Jem and the Holograms cartoon from the 80's, man the dreams that show implanted in my young brain).

I've been thinking a lot lately about the scenario I described that we have given the alias of "The American Dream". I have to be honest, it sounds like a complete and total nightmare. At any given time there are quite a few ideas and schemes running through my mind, sometimes when I make the mistake of giving them a voice while around friends or acquaintances, I get that "Have you completely lost your mind?!?" look that I have come to love so dearly. Once it even earned me a 'Life Coach in Training' who wanted to use me as a guinea pig.

Basically, I have been taking stock of my earthly possessions and coming to the conclusion that you don't own your stuff, but more often than not, your stuff owns you. I'm tired of working a job that I hate to pay for things I don't need and using the time I am not working to take care of things I don't use or need as well. It seems backwards. It doesn't make sense. And somehow I am the crazy one for thinking this 'American Dream' is a nightmare. In light of this train of thought my first idea was to sell all of my stuff, and my house and move into a camper for a few years and live off of the money while I finish my schooling. Obviously the fact that I would be moving my 3 little boys into the camper with me (when it's there time to be with me -joint custody-) earned me quite a few 'Have you lost your ever loving mind' looks.

And who knows, perhaps the camper isn't the best idea. I'm aware of the costs incurred and the fact that my house is a big, and really my only asset. However, I just feel absolutely and completely strangled by the lifestyle of most Americans. We're inundated with this push to buy, buy, buy, consume, consume, consume! And the things we are told we need are completely ridiculous...

"Have you ever wanted to talk to someone while they are checking out the great barrier reef? Now you can with this new Underwater Cellular Phone System!!"
"Have you ever wanted to know about your dog's family tree? Discover the mysteries of your pooch with this Canine genealogy kit!"
"Books are great, but they require so much energy and hand-eye coordination. Strap your hard-to-hold books in the book holder, then just make one of your kids stand by for page-turning."

It's completely ridiculous. We are full on nuts. So, for now I am starting small and the minimalist inside of me is dancing. I am going room to room and cutting down. I am planning on selling most of what I own. The first yard sale is this weekend. I feel the really strong urge to downsize. I'm not sure what the next step is, and perhaps it isn't the camper. But something needs to change. I refuse to spend the next 30 years of my life working at a job I hate and never having the time or freedom to do the things that stir my heart. I can't imagine a life without the time to make music, or art, or write, or go hike, or go pray for people, or give flowers to a stripper, or feed a homeless lady, or blow bubbles with a little kid in the ghetto...

I can't, and won't, go out like that. Worse case scenario I am unburdened by my possessions, retired at 45 (when my youngest will finally hit 18 years old) and living in one of these:
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/