Is Wanderlust a Curse?

People keep asking what fun things i’m doing.  And i can’t do anything but answer, “Oh, same as EVERY day here on this Rock!” 

Bowen Island is a beautiful place, and i love it here in my Sanctuary, but it’s a lonely place too!  It’s where i hide away from the world, planning my nefarious schemes..  Well, not completely nefarious, but i’m sure that’s what some people think!  Ok.. some of them ARE rather wicked, but that’s neither here nor there. 

I’m planning the next stage of my life, and having a blast doing it!  I’m a planner at heart, so my in-depth research and organization makes my heart sing!  (Btw, my ONLINE life is orderly, my REAL life looks like a bomb went off, but.. i’m good with that.  ...Priorities!)

My wandering feet... across
Frame Lake, Yellowknife, NWT

And it totally has to do with Wanderlust!  That deep NEED to move around this earth of ours, making a new place home for a while, then moving on again.  Honestly, it’s a driving force that i can’t contain!

Hey.. i don’t expect you (or anyone) to understand.  I don’t understand it myself!

I mean, leave the friends and family i love.. a new house just built especially for me.. to live life indefinitely like a tumbleweed?  

 *song pops into my head* ♪ ♫ Mama was a rolling stone….. ♫♪ Wherever she lay her hat was her home! ♪     

 And yes, i know the next lines to that song would be, “And when she died.. all she left us was alone..”

 And there we have it.  Is Wanderlust a curse?

 It’s come to the point that when i see people in a tv show, obviously happily living their lives in their nice homes with family and friends.. living day to day.. i actually feel so sorry for them!  How can they stand being in the same town their entire lives?? 

Yet i did that myself, for many years!  And was very happy, thank you very much!  I wouldn’t change those years for anything!

But now… i can’t do that anymore… not for the life of me!  I’m cursed with Wanderlust, and nothing else will suffice if i want to be 'truly' happy!

At THIS time of my life.

And IF the Travel Gods allow it of course.  I am precariously perched on top of three very important factors.  Finances, Health and Having a House-sitter.  It’s a very delicate balance, and if just ONE of those things go out of whack, i’m S.O.L.  And my health is going downhill so fast, it’s like i’m in a race against time!  Which fuels my need to GO!  NOW!  While i CAN!  Before it’s too LATE!

I’m sure that once i get some serious wandering under my belt, complete with bug-infested beds in a multitude of youth hostel dorm rooms, getting lost in places i shouldn’t even BE in, and actually never being able to be alone… i’ll be ready to settle down and be reclusive again.

At least for a while, until that Lust builds up in my soul again...

Apologies to the people i love and who love me...

My first year as a nomad

Well.. SORT of a nomad. The kind that stays in one place in their own country for an entire year kind of nomad.

I thought that would be a good way to eeeease my way gently into the whole situation, seeing i had never in my entire life been alone! From daddy’s house to hubby’s house to best friend’s house. Yup.. that’s me!

My entire life i’ve wanted to travel, and in fact have, a bit... leaving the older kids in school while taking the 2 year old for a 6 week Road Trip down to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City! So i’ve had my tavellin’ moments (actually quite a few).

But this year was different.

I finally answered the Siren Call of the North that had been screaming in my ear for a few years, and moved to Yellowknife, NWT, Canada, just 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle by myself! 

I was even in "The Yellowknifer"!  I have arrived!

And it’s been a wonderful year! I’ve made friends... become active in a
local drumming/singing group where we’ve performed publicly... learned how to make a drum, sacred rattle, medicine pouch, plus many other things like silversmithing, felting and beading and making Inuit-style mittens out of seal skin. I have a ‘Night Sky Photography’ workshop tonight!

Let’s just say i love, love, LOVE to learn new things!

And i’ve created a Life. In Yellowknife.

Gypsy Sparrow...

Lol... i wish i could change my name to Gypsy Sparrow now (but that name is taken)... I find that the bird inspires me! I DO have a sparrow tattooed on my arm (thanks to my daughter's & my matching tattoos)... and i just yesterday bought a cheap little pendant that 'spoke' to me. An empty (3-D) bird cage & a sparrow flying away. To me, it represents my strong need for freedom!

Here is a good write-up on the symbolic meaning of the sparrow. Safety in numbers certainly would be something to remember on the road, but the rest really means a lot too! Reminder to be productive... to be creative... & to try to keep our burdens light. She's ever vigilant in her goals, and she has a spiritual side to her too! And of course we can't forget that sparrows also represent freedom! Can't get any more precise than that!

So... Freedom, Joy, Inclusion, Creativity, Simplicity, Protection, Community, Productivity, Friendliness & Spirituality....

Well, gypsy sparrow may not be able to officially be my name, but she will certainly be my animal totem! Even though i'm a 'kat'! We all need to get along! Hehe... ;-)

The dream is born....

It seems WAY too early to be starting this blog, but... the planning of it is going to be a looooong process, so i might as well start with this!

Gypsy Kat's New Life starts in June, 2011. I'll be moving to Yellowknife (in the NWT, Canada) for a year (or maybe just 6 months.. we shall see), by myself. Well, that's the plan at least. Find a part-time job, find a roommate/room.... and live with the Aurora Borealis.

 The Call of the North has been strong for years now. I have a Northern/Yellowkife blog (life-north-of-60... where i'll post most of my Yellowknife experience), but i've not even gotten to YK (short for Yellowknife) yet, and i'm already dreaming of the year or two after that! So seeing that it all has to do with seeing the world and living in it, i've now added YK to that 'life'.

And what are those plans i'm dreaming of? To travel the earth with a backpack, like a gypsy vagabond. To live in other countries and completely immerse myself in the cultures, by working and living with the people. To live in the moment (unlike now, where i'm obsessed with the future).

This would not be a vacation... it's a lifestyle choice. A dream. I'm sure it's WAY too ambitious, and i certainly may not even be able to handle it when push comes to shove, but what can i say? I'm an incurable dreamer! And i want to at least try!

Gypsy Kat's dream started a few years ago with wanting to buy an RV & travel around Canada & the US. Stay at one place long enough to make friends, see the area, maybe do some paintings and selling them online to help pay for food, etc (can you say 'dreamer'?), then move on to the next place.

But then last year, my 18 year old daughter went on a 'Kontiki' trip to Europe for a couple of weeks, then stayed there for about a month afterwards. I followed her trip with loving envy on facebook... such a lucky girl! And at this moment, my son is in France with his girlfriend... his 5 month journey around Europe & area almost done. OH, the experiences they've had! Camel journey & sleeping under the stars in the Sahara Desert in Morocco, waterfall sliding in Switzerland, and SO many more! I can't wait for them to return home so i can hear all about it... and pick their brains! I SO want to do that too!

Which was when Gypsy Kat's determination to actually DO that was born! I've wanted to do this for years, but i've only been obsessing about it for a couple of weeks so far, but MAN the desire is strong!

Gypsy Kat's dream of a New Life continues. In the meantime, there's SO much work to do...


I have started a travel blog for Gypsy Kat at travelpod.com/members/gypsykat ... so i may continue this thing there. I really like the setup there. I can create a different blog/album for every country, and the entries include a map. So... hopefully see you there... in the future...

(web shot of the template, just in case i change it in future)...