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World Stories, Told My Way's avatar

So true. I was thinking just today that doing the things I used to do for leisure but now for work was stressing me out. Surely reading a book isn’t work? Editing images isn’t work? It doesn’t sit naturally in a world where we are hyper-geared to do. Most of the time being busy fools :)

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Jill Amatt - Full-time Nomad's avatar

Busy fools. I like that! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This is a huge topic in the Western World, for sure.

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World Stories, Told My Way's avatar

It’s all part of the great corporate charade, where winning is everything and being busy implies others’ need of your skills and experience

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Richard Philion's avatar

I really enjoyed your insights. I’m entering a season where my work is “slow” and always start to panic a little. This is exactly what I needed to read today. Thank you!

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Jill Amatt - Full-time Nomad's avatar

Perfect! Thanks so much. I’m glad this resonated with you:)

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Matt McMann's avatar

Jill, this is incredibly powerful and insightful. I'm definitely still wrestling with an addiction to being busy one year into our nomad journey. I'm still working as an author as well as writing articles so it's a balancing act of learning how to be appropriately productive while embracing simply "being" guilt-free. Thanks so much for sharing!

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Jill Amatt - Full-time Nomad's avatar

Thanks, Matt. I think all of this lifestyle is one big letting go process. First it’s our things, then other layers start to peel back. Being busy is certainly ingrained in us because of the North American culture. You will find that it does subside over time. At least it has for me.

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Matt McMann's avatar

Well said, Jill. And I believe you're right that it will subside for me as well :)

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Janaka Stagnaro's avatar

Nice sharing,Jill. Living in Cameroon helped me learn about African time. I think living in hot climates naturally slows one down. Cold countries got to keep moving, getting ready for winter.

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Jill Amatt - Full-time Nomad's avatar

I agree, Janaka. Africa truly slowed me down and I’m grateful for that.

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Darren Weir's avatar

I love this and I can relate. It took me a long time traveling before I could shed the 'busyness of life'. There are days when I can just sit and contemplate my world and there are others where I feel I have to keep moving - "So many things to do." Now that I've found a balance, I go with whatever my head is telling me to do - kick back or kick it up.

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Jill Amatt - Full-time Nomad's avatar

Awesome, Darren. Yes, there are certainly times where we put the peddle to the metal. When we are in Canada we work as much as we can to make the money that will carry us through the winter. As they say, “make hay while the sun shines.” But over all we are much less busy than we were in our conventional lives with no assets to deal with.

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Cory // Radical Paths's avatar

This was great, Jill. I loved the spiritual experience you described. A year until we start to feel relaxed, though?! I totally believe it. We were sitting on our sailboat today, burned out from working 7 days per week getting everything ready, and thinking, “I wonder if we’ll get bored in our new life.” I started to fear being an old retired man with no purpose or something. But that’s crazy. Then, we started talking about all the amazing things we’d get to notice, and suddenly have time to do, and it made me so happy :)

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Jill Amatt - Full-time Nomad's avatar

It’s all a slow shift. Then one day you look back and realize how much you have changed. It’s pretty fascinating.

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Lisa McMann's avatar

This uptight nomad is working on the joy of being without doing. It's very hard. But nomads do hard things. Thanks for the reset.

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Liz Medford - lizexplores.com's avatar

“We don’t have much stress, we don’t run on any sort of timeline, we do the things we want, and it all works out”—THIS is the best part of nomad life! 🙌 Thank you for sharing your reflections.

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Jill Amatt - Full-time Nomad's avatar

Thank you for reading them:)

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