Where do you live?

Something my brother-in-law said made me think about the subject of "home". He expressed concern that I wouldn't have a home to return to following my round-the-world trip. So when I wrote my previous blog (Half Way Home), I thought about his comment and my use of the word "home".

Since selling my Colorado home and launching this journey in March 2014, I've stayed at my sister's house in Colorado, hotels in various states, my other sister's house in Illinois, my Airstream in 8 different western states, and most recently, a care taker house in Maryland. My nomadic lifestyle has opened my eyes to how fixated society is on the expectation that everyone have a permanent "home" address. This expectation presents a challenge for nomads like me but it also caused me to think how difficult it must be for the homeless and immigrants. From getting a library card to using a credit card, to getting a passport, to everything in between, it sometimes seems that every daily function requires or is linked to an address. Despite what some refer to as the digital, global economy, our regulations and systems still largely require a "brick and mortar" address; seems so archaic. We have mobile phone numbers that go with us wherever we go, including when we switch carriers; hopefully, there will come a time when we no longer need a permanent home or mailing address.

One complexity of my journey for a simpler life is how do I answer seemingly simple questions from people I meet or need to deal with, like... where do you live? where are you from? what is your mailing address? In one sense, these questions are similar to - who are you? Just as "you" (the self) is always changing, so is my location. I'm fine with the changing self and nomadic lifestyle but evidently the world is not ready:)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining; just been dealing with this address issue a lot lately and suspect I'm not alone so thought I'd blog about it. How much more difficult this issue must be for homeless people and immigrants. 

A meditation analogy - One reason following the breath is such a great method for meditation is because your breath is always with you. Likewise, wouldn't it be nice if our bodies could serve as anytime/anywhere identification:) Wonder if we'll ever see widespread use of biological marker identification (e.g., fingerprints, DNA, etc.) replacing addresses, drivers licenses, passports, SS numbers, PINs, passwords, etc. as identification.