Monday 10 March 2008

Can you quit the rat race without leaving the country?

On my quest to find a better way of life for ourselves, and any possible future offspring, Paul and I have chosen to first explore the possibility of finding a better quality of life in another country.

However I’m quite aware that there are perhaps other ways of living life differently, without perhaps the drastic measures of leaving your country. You only need to look at the trend of downshifting in the UK to notice that there is a growing movement of people within England who are all seeking ways to find more balance and more community within their own country.

I’ve found, or rather – I was found by, a group of people who have set up a forum on the internet for like-minded people who are free thinkers, and want to live a different kind of life within the UK.

Introducing: The Idle Foundation

Extracts from the site:

“This group is open to: eccentrics, thinkers, creatives, musicians, collaborators, dreamers everywhere.”

"supporting a rejection of traditional 'job' and 'career' aspirations and a tendency to eschew capitalism, supporting and nurturing the desire to think and create in a free and unconventional way".

“Join in and help build a happier society and planet together!"

Please note: Although the word "idle" conjures up images of laziness, this website attempts to introduce a different concept of "idle". Rather than adopting an attitude that you have to work hard in order to succeed, members of the site suggest that perhaps life should be more about finding ways to live your life, while loving what you do. In that sense the word "work" can easily be swapped for "fun" - and as a result - not seem like work at all...

Exciting news for me: Many members of the group have come together to write a book – and I am really flattered and excited to have been asked to contribute... Naturally I can’t say much about the book itself at this stage – it’s a SECRET! But I wish the book had been around for me to read earlier on in my life!!

Okay – I’d better quit writing a post for the blog now – and go write my chapter for the book.....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

have you read the four hour work week by tim ferriss yet? (his blog is also at www.fourhourworkweek.com. it's one of the reasons i came on this trip in the first place, and reminds me a lot of what you're describing. people hear the title and think immediately of "laziness" but in reality it's just increasing your productivity so you need to work less, which allows for a better quality of life overall! congratulations on the book! =)