How Does One Survive This World?

stepping away from “work, nest, accumulate, reproduce, retire”

What do you do
when you’re young, energetic, and full of potential,
priced out of the housing market,
disillusioned by world affairs,
and only feel whole
when moving your body swiftly through nature?

What do you do
when you don’t want to play the same game as everyone else
but you also don’t want to become a bum, nun, monk, or parasite
or end up dead in a bus in Alaska?

When most serious jobs feel morally suspect
When full-time work is a conveyor belt to burnout
When vacation allows only for recovery, not re-creation
Why contribute, why participate, why buy in?

Why listen to those who tell you to suck it up,
get serious, stop your griping, and take the damn job,
when they seem to inhabit a very different universe
and came of age in very different circumstances?

You try listening to the hustle bros
They’re clever and enthusiastic
but still pray to the money gods

You follow the full-time athletes, artists, and explorers
They’re beautiful and inspirational, with unfortunately little to say
about money, relationships, or finding work that can support lives like theirs

You try the self-care: “I’m good enough, just as I am right now”
But “good enough” doesn’t exempt you
from bills, debts, inflation, and social expectations

Older people call you talented and capable: ”don’t waste your potential”
You wonder how much of this praise is genuine
And how much validates their own questionable choices

All you really know for sure:
You can put your faith in sunrises and sunsets
Sweat, dirt, and campfire smoke
Cold lakes and windy forests
Bird calls and rocky trails
One leg in front of another
And the rare souls who speak your same language

You don’t need to become rich or famous
You just want to do good work, and not too much of it
and invest heavily in nature, relationships, and social causes

How does one do this
when anxious family, friends, and doomscroll media
tell you to play it safe?

How does one participate in “capitalism”
without losing mind, body, soul
and still purchase a goose down sleeping bag?

How does one step away from the algorithm
of “work, nest, accumulate, reproduce, retire”
and still have warmth, friends, community, safety?

Who is asking these questions
and where are the answers?

How does one survive this world? 𖤓

Lake Wanaka, New Zealand, 2019

[I wrote this to explore the core readership of Dirtbag Rich: their urgent problems and concerns, and why my book might matter to them.]