Portable Pioneers
(Pictures from Google Images)
Run an online search for portable housing and be amazed by what you find! Scores of articles, photos, and how-to postings will fill your screen. All different types of people from differing lifestyles seem to be flocking to the world of portable or movable housing.
What on earth would make a family leave behind a comfortable home and settled life surrounded by familiar community? The reasons for adapting a nomadic way of life are are varied as the people themselves. College students, young couples, single adventurers, empty nesters, and families with children each have their own reasons for choosing to leave a traditional home behind and becoming modern day nomads traveling the nation. While the location of these portable homes may be temporary, a commitment to home, health, and family appear to be a constant, if one can judge from the articles being published.
The pictures above are just two examples of school bus conversions. For some reason I am most intrigued by the conversions of school buses as opposed to the renovation of vintage campers. Perhaps it is the fond memories I have of riding in an old church bus as a young girl. I honestly don't know. Whatever the reason, seeing the lovely homes full of cozy warmth being created from clunky old school buses amazes me. Who would have thought! See that photo on the left up there? What a darling cottage look that one has. I had to go get myself a cup of tea after seeing the curved door with the tiny windows.
As I thought about these portable homes and pondered what I had read about the people living in them, I couldn't help but compare all of these tiny homes to the tiny living accommodations of the pioneers who settled our nation. Leaving their comfortable homes and settled communities behind men, women, and their children set out to create a new life for themselves. Purging their belongings of all but the barest necessities they packed up and headed in a new direction just like these modern day tiny house owners do.
Many modern nomads, before leaving traditional housing behind, often felt trapped in a rat race and left the traditional 9 to 5 job in search of freedom from the daily office grind. They longed to experience new places and meet interesting people. Widespread internet access allows people the freedom to do this by making it possible for their work to travel with them rather than being tied down to one specific spot.
For others, the decision to leave corporate employment and live in movable housing is an environmental issue. The desire to leave a smaller footprint on the earth and live simply is a driving force for many individuals and families in the modern age. Owning less, experiencing more is an extremely popular motivation.
Increased financial independence and/or stability is another reason individuals downsize. Living in refurbished RVs or converted buses eliminates large monthly housing expenses. Not only are there no property taxes or monthly housing payments, but other expenses traditional homeowners have such as lawn care, trash pickup, homeowner associations, etc. etc. etc. are also no longer a burden for one whose home is a recreation vehicle. There are expenses to be met, but they are enough less to motivate many families to downsize.
The similarities between early pioneers setting out for a new place and the choices of many people today to live in their homes while traveling the country didn't capture my attention until today. In the middle of modern day America it is easy to think that the pioneering spirit has almost vanished, but perhaps, just perhaps it is not as long gone as one might think. Perhaps the motivating factors that influenced the early pioneers aren't all that different from those influencing the nomads of today. A fresh start, an improved/more stable financial situation, a search for adventure, breaking free from the rat race, all of these moved both the people of yesteryear and today to make life-changing decisions.
As I look through the pictures and read the stories of the people creating these portable homes I can't help but think that inside each person is a God-given hunger to create, to explore new territory, to constantly grow in the body, soul, and spirit. AND that each one of us will in some way be a pioneer of something. Whether we create a new product, write a book, compose a song, paint a masterpiece, cook a delish meal, raise a gorgeous garden, or move into a portable home, every person has the same hunger to create within them. AND it would appear that if a person is in a situation or circumstance that prevents them from feeding the hunger to create, they can be motivated to make life-altering decisions in order to satisfy their creative appetite.
Author's Note: The preceding article is quite rough. It could definitely use some tweaking. However, I felt that for some reason someone somewhere needs to see it as it is. This isn't an excuse, just a why. Thank you for being a faithful reader of Abundance House. We appreciate you more than words can say. With that being said, we will conclude this posting.
May the pioneers of today recognize the Source of their creative hunger and Go in God!