theratracejournal.com

So I thought it would be best to start where I left off last December.

I moved from the city just before Christmas, put my few meager possessions into storage, and went to stay at my parents’ home for a few months. This gave me time to think about my next move.

They live in a very small, quiet town in Northern Ontario – the perfect place to really do some serious thinking, write a novel, or retire. I really valued that time as it was the turning point for me in many ways.

At this point, money was not an issue. After liquidating all my worldly assets, I came out ok and knew I had at least that one luxury many do not. However, at my age, I still needed to get something together. I had to find a way to ensure self-sufficiency in the years to come. Ironically, it was the saved dollars from my wage-slave days that afforded me the luxury to have this time to plan the rest of my life – even though I was constantly reminded of the possibility of having to return to the rat race to replenish that precious supply.

Now, self-sufficiency means something different to everyone. One of the most important things I learned is that, without really knowing what I wanted, and how I wished to spend my days, I could not devise a plan to get there.

Sounds simple, but I really did spend a lot of time thinking about what was important to me and what would ultimately make me happy.

I came to the conclusion that I needed money to live. There was no way around it. I did not have the skills to go it alone and hope to exist off the land. The only other alternative was to try and collect some sort of assistance benefits – but existing on government handouts was not the life-style I envisioned.

As much as some of us hate the way the system is set up, we need money to live. The key to it all is in knowing how much is really necessary, and then figuring out the best way to earn that money.

Anyway, it was good to spend time at home with family. I was very careful not to extend my welcome, however, since people were always a little too quick to assume things. I did not want anyone thinking that I had moved back home to sponge off my parents.

In fact, I had more than enough money to get some place of my own. However, I didn’t know where I wanted to go at that point. Besides, I wanted to see the folks and spend some time in a peaceful, friendly setting before I decided what to do with the rest of my life.