I love movies and enjoy watching the Academy Awards. It was quite different this past year when movie theaters were closed and going out in crowds was risky. But watching the awards show in March gave Steven and I ideas on movies we could catch up on by streaming.
The first movie we watched was the 2021 winner for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress… “Nomadland.”
If you missed it, the movie was based on the 2017 book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by American journalist Jessica Bruder.
The movie tells the story of a woman in her sixties, after losing everything she owns, embarking on a journey through the American west…living as a van-dwelling, modern-day nomad.
She eventually makes some friends in makeshift communities working seasonal jobs. The movie has a melancholy tone, but gorgeous cinematography of natural landscapes as even the poorest people find a way to survive together in old vans as their home.
RVing has been around for years with luxurious motorhomes costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. But it has only been in recent years that some people are choosing “van conversions” as their primary home and traveling the country to be closer to nature.
Several YouTube channels are devoted to showing how you can make living in a van a lifestyle, taking “remote working” to an extreme level.
Escaping the Daily Grind
I immediately thought of Wisdom from the Woods when watching both “Nomadland” and “Van Life” on YouTube. For many, there is a lure of having alone time and escaping the daily grind.
Traveling couples must find creative ways to make this “alone time” on the road. The other major enticement is having ultimate access to nature, only a few steps away.
More than weekend camping, van life fulfills a different rhythm of life with vistas of canyons, deserts, forests, mountains, and beaches. It is a way to have an entire life of pausing, reflecting, being close to nature, with some earning a living while doing so.
Many have asked why this lifestyle is trending. What is the attraction? Freedom, minimalism, simplicity, and adventure.
Also, a big factor…assessing what has personal meaning in life.
Those of you who know me know that I won’t be buying a van any time soon and leaving my urban high-rise home.
However, I can identify with the questions that may entice others into van life. How can we create more space in our lives? How can we simplify so that we aren’t running from one task to the next? How can we assess and find what is meaningful to our lives?
Ginny’s two-month sabbatical in the woods of Door County addressed many of these questions. While some find retreat in a lifetime of being on the road, others find it in a sabbatical like Ginny did.
What if you don’t have two months or even two weeks to retreat?
I have become fascinated in how you can retreat in only one day using Wisdom from the Woods practices.
Watch for upcoming ideas on “retreats.” Whether they are a month, a week, or even a day, retreats can recharge the body and soul.