Designing an Intentional Life

While on my walk along the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrimage across Northern Spain, I spent a great deal of time thinking about the life of a pilgrim. My dreams included ideas for living an Intentional Life of self-reliance, simplicity, and freedom.  I thought about the small farms and the lives of the people that live and work there. I marveled at solar panels on the roofs of older buildings and the sound of the great wind turbines. 

What do the words “self-reliant” mean to you? What sort of image do these words conjure up in your mind? If you’re like most people, you probably see someone living life on their own terms. They are independent. They are self-sufficient. You probably see them growing their own fruits and vegetables to eat. They are raising animals for meat and for eggs, milk, and cheese. They are preserving the food that they grow and raise for future use. Perhaps you see them using the sun and wind to generate their own electricity. You see them living in a house that they built and own outright. You likely see them living rural and living more simply than is the norm.

If this is the picture that you have in your mind when the words “self-reliant” are mentioned, then you are not too far off the mark. Self-reliance is about making lifestyle choices that allow a person to live more independently. This usually means trying to break some of the ties to technology that requires us to become dependent. Thus, self-reliant individuals do tend to live rural and more simply because life in cities is much too rigid to allow for non-conformity. A self-reliant lifestyle is attractive to many people who desire something more in their lives – something that the “average” lifestyle is not giving them. Yet, what is the basis of this attraction? Why exactly is self-reliance important?

We were not always dependent upon technology. We didn’t always live in big cities. We weren’t always tied to jobs that paid for the technologies that caused even more dependent. We didn’t always work for things, the vast majority of which we don’t need and if we are being honest with ourselves, we don’t really want. Instead, we lived naturally, as an integral part of the environment we existed within. We relied upon our own wits and skills to survive. We were truly independent and free. Of course, we still had physical needs that we needed to satisfy. However, we satisfied those needs with our own activities. We didn’t work for others in order to purchase goods that others produced. We didn’t trade our time for dollars. The work that we did allowed us to live independently.

This is why self-reliance is so important. It reminds us that we are more than dependent drones. It reminds us that there is more to life than a lifestyle imposed upon us by society. It reminds us that we can still be free if we make the choice to stand on our own two feet.

With each purchase we make, we exchange hours of our lives because we must work to pay for the purchase, the interest, and the upkeep of our instant desires. Many times, what we purchase doesn't even bring the joy and satisfaction we are looking for because we are looking in the wrong places. 

What do you need and want in your Intentional Life? Are you living it now? If not, what must you do to progress towards your dreams?

I'm hoping to walk the Camino again this summer if my leg is healed enough for me to make the trek. These last few months of physical therapy have helped me tremendously; however, my leg and ankle are weak and my gait needs to improve. Living the simple life of a pilgrim calls to me and allows me to contemplate the bigger issues and ideas that I have, and when I'm on the Camino, it takes me away from the life of consumerism and long work hours, and it has a way of filling me with joy.

The philosophy of A House With Four Rooms is to visit each of your four rooms (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) daily. This is important to complete wellbeing.

Here's an affiliate link to the weighted vest I use for training.

Cheers!

Lisa