"Are you Crazy?"

Have you gone Crazy??!!   We get that a lot!  Below I will go through all the reasons why we have decided to embark on this adventure and then you can decide – Have we gone crazy? Or are we just a couple of the few sane people left in this psychiatric ward we call the USA!

Some people may call this a mid-life crisis.  In a way, it probably is.  After all I am 47 years old, so timing is right.  However, I don’t see what people call a mid-life crisis as a crisis at all, or even a negative for that matter.  It is simply a realization that there are fewer years ahead of you than there are behind you.  It is reasonable to assume at 47, that there are fewer, healthy, productive years ahead of me than behind me.  Now, most people when faced with this realization choose to deny it and try to pretend that they are younger so as not to have to face the reality in which they find themselves.  This denial is what causes the “crisis”.  This is what causes people to dye their hair, get plastic surgery, and buy that little red sports car.  Some guys, trying to prove that they still got it, try to seduce younger women, all in a vain attempt to deny the reality of their own mortality.

I say, “Embrace your Mid-Life Reality!”

Rather than looking foolish while trying to act younger, accept the fact that your time on earth is precious and limited.  Therefore, make the most of the time you got and don’t waste one minute of the greatest gift you have ever received, your time here on planet Earth.

Does that sound so crazy?

Let’s do some simple math.  At 47 years old, I would probably have to work another 20 years before I can retire.  In those 20 years I will get a 2 week vacation each year.  So that is 40 weeks that we would have to explore the world.  Just 40 weeks! That’s less than a year, out of the next 20 years.  That is unacceptable to me.  Besides, I never liked being a tourist.  A two week vacation tends to turn you into a tourist whether you like it or not.  You fly into some destination and have to rush around to take in all the sights in your limited amount of time and then rush home again.  I want to immerse myself into a culture, take time to really get to know the locals and live as they live.  You can’t really do that on a two week trip.  I figure that if I take a year (52 weeks) right now, and that’s all the time I get, I am still better off than if I did the 2 week vacation thing. 

How crazy does that sound?

For several years now, I have become increasingly concerned about the fragility of the US economy.  While most people claimed that the collapse of 2008 was impossible to predict, I was warning about a coming financial crisis as early as January and February of that year.  It started to become obvious that the best strategy was to minimize ones involvement and dependence on the broader economy.  Over consumption and over indebtedness has driven the United States and a large portion of its citizens to the brink. 

Our new lifestyle is based on self-sufficiency and reduced consumption.  “The best things in life are free” will be our new motto.  Our electrical consumption will be reduced to a minimum and what electricity we do consume will be generated ourselves by solar panels and wind generators.  No more gas-guzzling automobiles, the wind will be our fuel to take us around the world.  Our entertainment will be all nature has to offer.  Swimming, snorkeling and hiking will be our past-times.  We will reduce our dependence on grocery stores filled with over-processed, over-preserved and under-nutritious food stuffs and supplement our diet with the bounty of the seas.  Fresh seafood and fresh produce from local markets will not only be healthier but is also less likely to be disrupted by disturbances in the broader economy.

Is this crazy talk? – I don’t think so.

Lastly, I want to inspire my friends and family.  So often, people find themselves stuck in a daily rut.  Life controls them rather than them taking control of their own lives.  When we tell people what we are doing, we get responses like: “I’m so jealous!” and “I wish I could do that!” and my response to them is, “YOU CAN!”  Start today.  Make a five year plan to get wherever you want to be, then set goals that will take you down that path.  Use our actions as your inspiration.  Say to yourself, “If Keith & Elvia can do it, so can I!”  Trust in yourself, act boldly and live your life to its fullest.  Talk is cheap but actions cut through the bullshit!  We hope our actions will inspire you to create for yourselves whatever your heart desires!

So, have we gone crazy? – I guess that is for you to decide.