When I made the decision three years ago to become a fulltime vandweller, my biggest fear was one you might consider silly:
Discomfort
Not pain, danger, or even death. Just discomfort.
I had become so used to the modern convenience of air-conditioned indoor living in Southern California that I was actually afraid of things my parents lived with every summer day: heat, high humidity — and especially bugs.
How would I be able to stand camping in some of the most beautiful parts of the country if I couldn’t tolerate a few pesky mosquitoes?
I should mention that pesticides are not in my repertoire because of chemical sensitivity.
So I researched natural mosquito repellants. I also found netting that can fit over my van windows and doors when I visit rain forests, rivers, and lakes.
But what about heat and humidity? OMG, how I hate sweating!
Now that I have a puppy who needs daily, vigorous exercise, guess who is sweating like a pig on a regular basis? At the beach, where the sun glares down at me and the humidity feels like a hot, damp, flannel shirt?
I know, you’re saying, “You are at the beach. With your puppy. Why are you complaining?”
Because I hate sweat, that’s why.
But the sea breeze is cool and soon the sticky sweat has dried up and the played-out puppy is sleeping at my feet and I am glad we came to the shore after all.
My point is, discomfort is only temporary
When I was a kid in Minnesota, I went swimming in a cold lake almost every day in the summer. I learned never to be timid about it. Putting a toe in the frigid water first was a recipe for never getting any further.
You had to jump in fast, feel the shock of the cold for a few seconds, and then just like that, your body got used to it. Playing, splashing, and having fun warmed you up so much that you could be in the water for hours without feeling cold.
Sometimes, we procrastinate on that thing that makes us nervous because we want to avoid, at all costs, feeling uncomfortable.
But it won’t last long, not if you dive right in
Whatever you’ve been putting off, getting it done is worth a few seconds of discomfort.
If you need a push, you know where to find me.
