Reading your comfortable words would make anyone long for a simpler, more natural lifestyle. Very well written, Don, and a pleasure to read. Thank you.
Beautifully written Don. Through my life I’ve always waited for the next big thing to come along, whether it be place, job, relationship. As I grow older I am much more aware of accepting what I have and where I am. I’m only human so I will keep looking and striving to a certain degree but it’s so much more relaxing and comforting to trust that everything in the moment “is as it’s supposed to be”without me trying so hard. 🩷
Don, Great story. I traded the wild life of northern Michigan for the “wild life “ of Los Angeles and never looked back. I learned that our path is rarely a straight line because of the choices we make every day and it is enriched when we grab the opportunities that come by, whether simple or more complex. Thanks for sharing
Funny that you mention Michigan, Eric. In this story, when I say I had just returned from the conclusion of a five-year relationship, I had been living in Michigan. It was a suburb of Detroit (Birmingham) but my partner at the time and I visited the northern parts quite often. Good memories; cherry festivals, looking at wooden boats in Charlevoix, Mackinaw Island, Sleeping Bear Dunes, being fascinated by Petoskey stones.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Eric, I really appreciate it!
I really loved reading this story. thank you so much, Don. I’m looking forward to hearing more from you.
your thoughts really intrigue me, especially around whether we truly have a choice in life or not. I’ve been struggling a lot with purpose lately, trying to understand what my dreams actually are and what direction I’m meant to move in.
I like the way you frame it, that perhaps some of it is more in the hands of the universe than we realize. I want to learn how to let go a little more, to trust that I’m being guided, and that somehow I’ll end up where I’m meant to be.
Thank you so much, Eilin. Letting go and the idea of free will are certainly things I’ve written about a lot in past essays (and will continue to write about). In fact, I decided that my word of the year for 2026 is “relinquish.”
Wonderful piece, my friend. I felt myself peacefully drifting by the end of it. Speaking of which, I have always had this tug of war with drifting. I've done it all my life, depended on it really, without admitting it, and yet, always felt there was something wrong in relying on it. Like, I wasn't being productive enough in life. Slacking off when there were still 2 hours left in the day. But as I age and wisdom seeps into me from all quarters, I've come to realize that drifting, the art of letting the Universe gently guide us, is just fine. Maybe someday, I'll drift to Hyannis and peek into one of those three coffee houses and see you, eyes on the horizon, enjoying the life you obviously created. 😊☕
I think I know just what you mean, Joe. I’ve always had this overly self-conscious and exhausting approach to work; I must be on time, get the maximum amount of work done, never be caught resting or slacking off. And then I would daydream about how nice it would be to, in fact, slack off, to take lots of time off, to live a relaxed life doing a whole lot of nothing. What inner conflict I put myself through! 🙄
I noticed I was feeling internally rushed when I began to read your story and by the end I was breathing with more ease and gratitude. For your words, your experience, your reflections and the reminders that maybe there is nothing to rush towards and only the moment to be in.
As I reflect on my own curiosities around free will, I enjoyed reading yours. I've studied spirituality, energy medicine and mental and emotional health for decades, looking for ways to not just support the human experience but also with a desire to "control" the experiences with knowledge. I love the younger versions of myself for all of their unbridled passion for trying to "get it", just as much as I adore the parts of me that truly don't have a clue and are learning to be okay with that too. Thanks for sharing, Don. And congrats on living the life it seems you signed up for so beautifully. :)
Thank you very much, Lynn. I really appreciate hearing about how a reader experienced the reading itself. As a writer, that’s important (and flattering in this case) feedback!
It sounds like you resonate because you’ve come a long way down the path yourself! 💚🩷
And the yard full of buttercups, Don! 🤗 part of the dream scene.
I can't say I always wanted the "simple life", and I can't say I didn't want to be rich. I can say that I do want simple now. People used to denigrate dairy farm living for "being tied to it 24/7", but I can't honestly see how people with regular 9-5 or corporate jobs are any less "tied down". I used to wish for a big house and especially for a nicer kitchen; now I'm happy with functional. I think about people who would be amazed and thrilled to have my kitchen, and it helps me be content with it.
It's good medicine to recognize the parts of your dream that you ARE living. Thanks for sharing.
What you said, absolutely, Kyle! I didn’t mention all the things that could be better with my house, my town, my career, even my relationship.
And I have definitely wanted more money than I made! I’ve been ever on the search for ways to put aside retirement and rainy day funds (and a little more income, too!) without compromising my values and time. I finally was able to acquire a rental home, and that’s going to hopefully make up for the lack of retirement money and my projected low SS payments.
Letting go of the comfort of, and then realizing the illusion of, control is a most wonderful gift that I have only fully experienced recently. As you say, all our decisions, "This door, or that one?" come from the causes and conditions of our minds.
I too chose passion (for singing/teaching voice/photography) over the security of a regular salary. While studying Anthropology, I chose/found a partner/husband who had also spent his childhood summers 'at the cottage'. As an academic he had 3 months off teaching in the summer; I was self-employed and/or on part-time contract with the music faculty, so I could take my summers off too. We found some land, and gradually created our home in nature, over the years. (Still a work-in-progress after 45 years). He wrote scholarly articles and books, which I edited.
Now that we are both retired we spend the six non-snowy months here; and the snowy months in small house in a town near the Ontario border. (While I enjoy the markets, shops and restaurants , offered in Montreal, I prefer the network of small town life.) Looking from the perspective of my 17 year old self, moving out of an abusive home, I could not imagine the wandering road that led me to the place and people that are part of my life. Looking back, I am so grateful that karma led me to the path I am now on, with the wonderful companions and teachers who are supporting me along the way.
For the recored, I didn’t choose passion in regards to my career. I always felt there was some other path that would be more “right” for me. I guess there is some passion, in that I always fell back on something that I was good at and enjoyed doing for the most part (there are aspects of contracting that still disturb me and in my younger years I had a hard time with the values of many of my crew mates).
One of these days, when I understand it better, I’ll write about my experience with career choice. (And perhaps my work life really is similar to my abode; living the dream without realizing it!)
something you are good at and enjoy doing sounds pretty good to me. I am a ‘dramatic’ soprano, so I love me these expressive words like ‘passion’. tho’ it really was from the age of 4 when I began harmonizing with the radio in the car.
I hear you, Madom, and it really does bring to mind a good subject for an essay. Perhaps it was my expectation and hope to “follow my passion” that left me feeling unsatisfied all those years, rather than my actual daily activities.
Life is funny; it's a mix of the thousands of small decisions we make (consciously or unconsciously) every day, combined with varying degrees of random chance. Also, as you discovered, it's often only with hindsight that we realize the paths we lamented going down at the time turned out to be the "right" one all along.
I'm glad that you and Jennifer ended up exactly where you're supposed to be.
Hope you're enjoying a coffee at one of those walkable shops as you're reading this.
Thanks, Todd. It was Starbucks for me today because I was driving the wheelchair van that I think I mentioned I’d be driving part-time now, and Sbucks was the only coffee shop at my location. But I thought of you when I sat down! 😊
Thank you for this beautiful read, Don! It brings to mind how all roads in life led to this moment and this place, which couldn't be any different than it is now. And how, when I accept and love what is, as the yogic practice of Santosha invites us to, I feel radiantly alive from the inside out. Cheers!
Don, what great photos. I love the one of you and Jennifer AND the one of your house!
I can relate to so much of what you shared here. I've never cared about making loads of money. I always just wanted to do what my heart wanted to do. That's probably why I never chose a career track that would guarantee financial comforts, but I'm happy living frugally and driving older cars. I do wish we had a screened-in porch, though. That's definitely on my bucket list! I grew up living on our screened-in porch during summer break, paperback in hand, with a tall, cold glass of lemonade and my cat Muffin curled in my lap.
The description of where you live sounds wonderful. I'd love to visit sometime!
And the fact that you were able to buy your home and fix it up, using the carpentry skills you have, is astounding. What a gift!
My heart's longing is to live in the mountains in a log home. Unless we come into some major money or some fluke happens where we find a fixer-upper, it's probably unlikely. But we are visiting my in-laws in Colorado this summer!
Sorry, I'm rambling. Thanks for another glimpse into your life, Don.
Thank you so much, Jeannie. I enjoy your rambling lol!
Jennifer and I drive older cars too. My truck is fourteen years old and the car is fifteen. Unfortunately, that comes with lots of maintenance. Just the car out of the shop and now my truck check engine light is on (several of them!) and the shocks are gone!
Reading your comfortable words would make anyone long for a simpler, more natural lifestyle. Very well written, Don, and a pleasure to read. Thank you.
Thank you so much, C.J., that really means a lot to me. 🙏💚
You’re very welcome, Don. It was a pleasure. 💕❤️😊
I came and read and liked what I read
Well, thank you very much, Jo!
Beautifully written Don. Through my life I’ve always waited for the next big thing to come along, whether it be place, job, relationship. As I grow older I am much more aware of accepting what I have and where I am. I’m only human so I will keep looking and striving to a certain degree but it’s so much more relaxing and comforting to trust that everything in the moment “is as it’s supposed to be”without me trying so hard. 🩷
Thank you, dearest! 🩷🌺 That’s a beautiful and wise sentiment.
Don, Great story. I traded the wild life of northern Michigan for the “wild life “ of Los Angeles and never looked back. I learned that our path is rarely a straight line because of the choices we make every day and it is enriched when we grab the opportunities that come by, whether simple or more complex. Thanks for sharing
Funny that you mention Michigan, Eric. In this story, when I say I had just returned from the conclusion of a five-year relationship, I had been living in Michigan. It was a suburb of Detroit (Birmingham) but my partner at the time and I visited the northern parts quite often. Good memories; cherry festivals, looking at wooden boats in Charlevoix, Mackinaw Island, Sleeping Bear Dunes, being fascinated by Petoskey stones.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Eric, I really appreciate it!
I really loved reading this story. thank you so much, Don. I’m looking forward to hearing more from you.
your thoughts really intrigue me, especially around whether we truly have a choice in life or not. I’ve been struggling a lot with purpose lately, trying to understand what my dreams actually are and what direction I’m meant to move in.
I like the way you frame it, that perhaps some of it is more in the hands of the universe than we realize. I want to learn how to let go a little more, to trust that I’m being guided, and that somehow I’ll end up where I’m meant to be.
Thank you so much, Eilin. Letting go and the idea of free will are certainly things I’ve written about a lot in past essays (and will continue to write about). In fact, I decided that my word of the year for 2026 is “relinquish.”
I really appreciate your being here! 🙏💚
Sweet bliss, Don. You’re there!!
Thanks, Jeanine!! 🙏🩷
Wonderful piece, my friend. I felt myself peacefully drifting by the end of it. Speaking of which, I have always had this tug of war with drifting. I've done it all my life, depended on it really, without admitting it, and yet, always felt there was something wrong in relying on it. Like, I wasn't being productive enough in life. Slacking off when there were still 2 hours left in the day. But as I age and wisdom seeps into me from all quarters, I've come to realize that drifting, the art of letting the Universe gently guide us, is just fine. Maybe someday, I'll drift to Hyannis and peek into one of those three coffee houses and see you, eyes on the horizon, enjoying the life you obviously created. 😊☕
Oh, and thank you for the huge compliment that my writing brought you gradually to a sense of peace!!
I think I know just what you mean, Joe. I’ve always had this overly self-conscious and exhausting approach to work; I must be on time, get the maximum amount of work done, never be caught resting or slacking off. And then I would daydream about how nice it would be to, in fact, slack off, to take lots of time off, to live a relaxed life doing a whole lot of nothing. What inner conflict I put myself through! 🙄
I noticed I was feeling internally rushed when I began to read your story and by the end I was breathing with more ease and gratitude. For your words, your experience, your reflections and the reminders that maybe there is nothing to rush towards and only the moment to be in.
As I reflect on my own curiosities around free will, I enjoyed reading yours. I've studied spirituality, energy medicine and mental and emotional health for decades, looking for ways to not just support the human experience but also with a desire to "control" the experiences with knowledge. I love the younger versions of myself for all of their unbridled passion for trying to "get it", just as much as I adore the parts of me that truly don't have a clue and are learning to be okay with that too. Thanks for sharing, Don. And congrats on living the life it seems you signed up for so beautifully. :)
Thank you very much, Lynn. I really appreciate hearing about how a reader experienced the reading itself. As a writer, that’s important (and flattering in this case) feedback!
It sounds like you resonate because you’ve come a long way down the path yourself! 💚🩷
And the yard full of buttercups, Don! 🤗 part of the dream scene.
I can't say I always wanted the "simple life", and I can't say I didn't want to be rich. I can say that I do want simple now. People used to denigrate dairy farm living for "being tied to it 24/7", but I can't honestly see how people with regular 9-5 or corporate jobs are any less "tied down". I used to wish for a big house and especially for a nicer kitchen; now I'm happy with functional. I think about people who would be amazed and thrilled to have my kitchen, and it helps me be content with it.
It's good medicine to recognize the parts of your dream that you ARE living. Thanks for sharing.
What you said, absolutely, Kyle! I didn’t mention all the things that could be better with my house, my town, my career, even my relationship.
And I have definitely wanted more money than I made! I’ve been ever on the search for ways to put aside retirement and rainy day funds (and a little more income, too!) without compromising my values and time. I finally was able to acquire a rental home, and that’s going to hopefully make up for the lack of retirement money and my projected low SS payments.
Letting go of the comfort of, and then realizing the illusion of, control is a most wonderful gift that I have only fully experienced recently. As you say, all our decisions, "This door, or that one?" come from the causes and conditions of our minds.
I too chose passion (for singing/teaching voice/photography) over the security of a regular salary. While studying Anthropology, I chose/found a partner/husband who had also spent his childhood summers 'at the cottage'. As an academic he had 3 months off teaching in the summer; I was self-employed and/or on part-time contract with the music faculty, so I could take my summers off too. We found some land, and gradually created our home in nature, over the years. (Still a work-in-progress after 45 years). He wrote scholarly articles and books, which I edited.
Now that we are both retired we spend the six non-snowy months here; and the snowy months in small house in a town near the Ontario border. (While I enjoy the markets, shops and restaurants , offered in Montreal, I prefer the network of small town life.) Looking from the perspective of my 17 year old self, moving out of an abusive home, I could not imagine the wandering road that led me to the place and people that are part of my life. Looking back, I am so grateful that karma led me to the path I am now on, with the wonderful companions and teachers who are supporting me along the way.
This is such a nice share, Madom, thank you!
For the recored, I didn’t choose passion in regards to my career. I always felt there was some other path that would be more “right” for me. I guess there is some passion, in that I always fell back on something that I was good at and enjoyed doing for the most part (there are aspects of contracting that still disturb me and in my younger years I had a hard time with the values of many of my crew mates).
One of these days, when I understand it better, I’ll write about my experience with career choice. (And perhaps my work life really is similar to my abode; living the dream without realizing it!)
something you are good at and enjoy doing sounds pretty good to me. I am a ‘dramatic’ soprano, so I love me these expressive words like ‘passion’. tho’ it really was from the age of 4 when I began harmonizing with the radio in the car.
I hear you, Madom, and it really does bring to mind a good subject for an essay. Perhaps it was my expectation and hope to “follow my passion” that left me feeling unsatisfied all those years, rather than my actual daily activities.
You always make me smile, Don. The simple life, is the best to me. Thank you for this wonderful read.✌🏻
Aw, that’s so nice, thank you, Jo-Ann! 🙏❤️
Life is funny; it's a mix of the thousands of small decisions we make (consciously or unconsciously) every day, combined with varying degrees of random chance. Also, as you discovered, it's often only with hindsight that we realize the paths we lamented going down at the time turned out to be the "right" one all along.
I'm glad that you and Jennifer ended up exactly where you're supposed to be.
Hope you're enjoying a coffee at one of those walkable shops as you're reading this.
Thanks, Todd. It was Starbucks for me today because I was driving the wheelchair van that I think I mentioned I’d be driving part-time now, and Sbucks was the only coffee shop at my location. But I thought of you when I sat down! 😊
Thank you for this beautiful read, Don! It brings to mind how all roads in life led to this moment and this place, which couldn't be any different than it is now. And how, when I accept and love what is, as the yogic practice of Santosha invites us to, I feel radiantly alive from the inside out. Cheers!
Excellent, Dr. Lang, thank you for this response! Cheers to you as well. 😊
It sounds like heaven to me. You allowed your heart and curiosity lead you, I would say your intuition knew what it was doing . 🧡
I think you’re right, thank you! 😊
Nicely done, Don... you've made friends with life, and yourself. That's a good life!
Thank you, Maia. I’ve been thinking about you lately. We’ll have to chat soon! 🙏💚
Don, what great photos. I love the one of you and Jennifer AND the one of your house!
I can relate to so much of what you shared here. I've never cared about making loads of money. I always just wanted to do what my heart wanted to do. That's probably why I never chose a career track that would guarantee financial comforts, but I'm happy living frugally and driving older cars. I do wish we had a screened-in porch, though. That's definitely on my bucket list! I grew up living on our screened-in porch during summer break, paperback in hand, with a tall, cold glass of lemonade and my cat Muffin curled in my lap.
The description of where you live sounds wonderful. I'd love to visit sometime!
And the fact that you were able to buy your home and fix it up, using the carpentry skills you have, is astounding. What a gift!
My heart's longing is to live in the mountains in a log home. Unless we come into some major money or some fluke happens where we find a fixer-upper, it's probably unlikely. But we are visiting my in-laws in Colorado this summer!
Sorry, I'm rambling. Thanks for another glimpse into your life, Don.
Thank you so much, Jeannie. I enjoy your rambling lol!
Jennifer and I drive older cars too. My truck is fourteen years old and the car is fifteen. Unfortunately, that comes with lots of maintenance. Just the car out of the shop and now my truck check engine light is on (several of them!) and the shocks are gone!
That sounds very familiar in our life, too, Don… :)