I finally looked up the term for “letting go of excess belongings to release one's heirs of the burden of your stuff”. In Japanese it's Danshari, in Swedish it's Döstädning. Whatever the language, it's a universal truth; there is a value in releasing attachment to material belongings. In preparation for this trip, and in getting the house ready for rental, I thought long and hard about what I needed in the van, and I cleared the house of most personal belongings. Most of the house stuff was literally stuffed into the pantry; little did I know by doing so it would create a wonderful environment for mice. We now have a pest control program, and the pantry has been emptied and moved into storage; a headache waiting for me when I return.
But I'd like to write about life in the van. It is such a finite environment, it's easy to think about simple solutions for small problems. Every movement reveals an efficiency or inefficiency. Washing dishes, reaching for the toaster oven, climbing over the music equipment to get in bed. As the weeks and months go by, it becomes very important to find efficient solutions to inefficient setups.
I thought I could could adapt to sleeping sideways with six feet clearance, but in fact I cannot. The slightest constriction where my feet have to be squished together or on top of each other makes falling asleep a multi-hour effort. So, more adaptations are required.
I spent a couple of wonderful days visiting with Andy Keller and family in Chico, CA. Sharon and Andy were in the same space around reusable bags. Andy's business is chicobags.com. Andy and Sharon both were big personalities in the conversation around reducing single-use plastic. Look up Andy's plastic bag monster; a creative visual on the typical number of plastic bags one person uses in a year; 1000! As is typical of businesses dedicated to making the world a better place, Andy and Sharon weren't competitive, they worked together to move the needle towards more awareness of the issue.
As we were saying goodbye, Andy looked at my studio/sleep setup and gave me a great idea about making a platform so I can sleep longwise and still keep the studio ready to go. Stay tuned for that!
But back to Danshari. The more time I spend living in a van, the more I realize how little I care about my stuff back home. I miss my Steinway, to be sure, and that home theater surround sound was pretty great. But really, how “important” is it? The answer is, not at all. How “important” are my friends? Completely! But I know they (You) love me and I love them, even though much time can pass before we see each other again. So, I'm comfortable with the time and distance. Having only what one needs and uses on a daily basis fosters a certain beautiful simplicity. I'm at a place in my life where I am perfectly fine living with just these essentials. It becomes about what I experience versus what I have.
In the coming weeks, I'll be doing several house concerts. I'll be friend-hopping once again, as I make my way down to San Diego in December, where I'll be flying to Baja for another cruise with Uncruise Adventures called “In the Wake of Steinbeck”.
Pics from Lassen Volcanic National Park. The devastation from the Dixie Fire in 2021 was prominent all the way down to Chico, CA.