On Selling Out

[Ponyboy]

Brother. All of of us around these parts are intricately aware of the things of which you speak. As for myself I accept that.. At 40 years old. The mathematical impossibility of 'The System' continuing to serve the people's wants and needs, Let alone in my life, But my children's or Grandchildrens life forces me to live off the grid. To prepare a better way. The obvious way😎

 

[Breck]

Do what you feel is right. Fuck everyone else... 45 and going back to traveling cuz every place sux so I might as well see the sights before I die...never let em grind you down..friends included

 

[r3yn]

OP (Satanic Botanic), this is a very poignant topic. Relevant to my mental interests. I've been debating it through the lens of my life choices these past years.

I think that punk meta-ethos of "not conforming, even to punk non-conformity" is paradoxical but the right way of being.

As long as you treat others and the environment with respect, you can’t go too far wrong. Selling out would be doing something you know hurts others, just to make a buck.

Yeah, that's it, isn't it? As in, that's the basic tenet for being -- the essential idea. Similar to the golden rule. Maybe throw in the Kantian imperative, as an absolute measure: "do that which you would want everyone to do"

And take action. Like mentioned in this thread, don't give in to apathy and inaction. It might be cliche at this point, but I really do believe it wholeheartedly, and tell the people who will listen what Gandhi said: "BE the change you want to see in the world".

 

[WyldLyfe]

Could type more but all im gonna say is look at nature, look at creation, what is the intention within creation you see? because there is an intention within creation.

There is an intent within creation and it is aligned to the greater good. It is not neutral. It is aligned to a higher intent and that intent is wanting for consciousness to evolve to higher levels, that is how it comes to know itself, therefore creation wants freedom, possibility, knowledge, higher states of complexity, evolutionary progress and growth is what creation desires.

Growth, change, evolution, so if you give yourself some label like "crustie" "punk" ect.. and think this is me and thats it, and hold onto it, how can you grow an transform like a caterpillar into a butterfly? The old must go for the new life to come, death an rebirth, the phoenix bird.

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[Groundscore]

Go and do what makes YOU happy. I don't view it as "selling out" if you're listening to your heart/soul/gut.

Maybe see if you can strike a balance between a home life with work and travel.

If you decide to make any major change in your lifestyle maybe try wading in first to see if it's for you, as the last thing you want is to get stuck in a life full of regrets and "what if's."

 

[Fuzzypeach]

Oh the struggle is real! I would alternate between dropping out and selling out. I always felt like a whore going to work for "Da man". But then again there were times I did like it. Unfortunately, the choices are stark: Either be in Babylon, working for "Da man" or be a disinfranchised wandering bum. Of course society is set up like that to keep you paying tribute to the Lord's of Babylon.

To have another choice is what people have been striving for with communes ( now "intentional communities"). However, getting one going is difficult largely because people cannot agree on what it's supposed to look like. It seems the religious ones are the only ones that are successful in large numbers. I think that's because we are all so fragmented. The internet is helping to bring like minded people together, but then we are all so scattered as well.

I have been searching for a better way most of my life. I am fortunately retired which makes things easier for me personally, but I would love to see a system that didn't force you to wait until you are too old and or sick to be sovereign. I guess the best solution for now is to go in and out of the lifestyle as your needs change.

 

[Stiv Rhodes]

This is a great conversation, and a difficult dilemma that I think most street kids have to face as we age. The ones who don't usually end up drugged out zombies living on the edge of death. Depression, isolation and addiction are common problems on the road as well as in mainstream society. I've gotten a lot from traveling and would recommend the activity to most young people, but I don't think it makes much of a life. I use to be the only member of my old crew that worked a "regular" job, now I'm the only one left that's still squatting a house, and the only one that ever bought property. I still go on a trip once or twice a year, but I get tired of being on the road after a couple weeks. It seems like a lot of us have a disdain for the superficiality of the cities, but they have always been where we found each other. If there was an easy answer, we'd all be doing it already. Life will always be work, weather it's holding a job or carrying your drinking water by foot. Rather than commit to one or the other, I prefer to do a little bit of each.

 

[Dameon]

This dilemma is an old one, for sure. SLC Punk addressed it to some extent; at a certain point either you have to decide whether you're going to let the lifestyle kill you or turn you insane, or whether you're going to "sell out". Living a wild and free lifestyle has a price, and the older you get the higher that price gets. Your teeth start rotting in your mouth because you don't get proper dental care, your health goes to shit because you can't see a doctor (free clinics are shit and don't count). You get sick of watching your friends die of drinking and overdoses, or lose their mind because they got fed too much acid at a festival. Your dog gets old and can't walk 20 miles in a day anymore, assuming your dog doesn't get a major problem and get put down because you can't afford a vet, or get taken away because you went to jail for too long.

I had to switch to an apartment and a 9-5 after 5 years of traveling + 3 years on a boat + 2 years living out in the woods, and it's definitely a hard transition. My time isn't my own anymore, the lack of freedom is real and painful. Every other week I'm about ready to say "fuck it", get rid of it all, and put the pack on again. The only thing that keeps me going is that I'm doing all this so I can have real freedom, rather than constantly trying to scrape up tiny amounts of cash so I can meet basic needs, and not really being able to see the world because you need money to leave the country. It also makes me feel really good finally getting long-needed dentistry done, and being able to go to a real doctor who actually gives a shit about me (versus a free-clinic nurse who doesn't even look at me).

Either we sell out, or we die from some stupid accident on the road, or we die old and alone of some stupid preventable illness with a mouth full of rotten teeth living in third-world conditions, the way I see it.

 

[Deleted member 24782]

Those of us who grew up without direction, or meaning in our young lives hit the road to find it. Then at some point, we become enslaved by the freedom we found. Ultimately we want to be successful and achieve things, but find ourselves settling with subsistent living, through survival tactics we learned on the road. As we watch our community grow and change, we question our own decisions and future. SELL OUT OR DIE!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mj23]

it really just wears on the body. bottom line. and looking over your shoulder for the law 24:7 can be just as soulsucking as working at mcdonalds.

i just turned thirty and im still trying to find the groove. ultimately i want a home, though. soil to build upon, keep tools and create with.. thats my dream. would def be in college too if it were practical.

you kind of just get tired. very, very tired.

 

[Mj23]

right.

its saddening when you begin to realize a lot of them are out there to be addicts and not to improve on themselves as people and really learn and grow. bc for me thats what getting away from the norm — 9 to 5 and pharmaceuticals — was all about. about finding real human integrity and real family to build something beautiful with.

..not applicable, however, for socio/psychopaths.. 100%.

 

[Hobo richard]

I hate waking up every morning just to go to work just to pay bills. I'd trade all this for a shack by the stream away from society with my own thoughts and a sketch book any fucking day of the week bro. I hate the city and the smells the amount of people and the noises that come with it. Hell I can't even step outside and see the damn stars with this light pollution. Fuck society fuck the government fuck rules

Amen brother!

 

[Koala]

I've been in and out of the normie life thing, going to college, working lots of different jobs since I was 14, by the time I graduated college I was prying and crying out for complete freedom on the road.

A year and a half into full time travel, it has started to wear me down a bit but i have places i can rest and i still feel the call of the road, especially because i am still quite young and agile and can get away with a lot of stuff for being "young and dumb". I'm not sure what ageing is going to bring me, but I know I cant and don't want to be living exactly the way I do now when I am older.

I believe @Juan Derlust hit the nail on the head when they said it's about adapting...I've always looked up to those older than me to see what I may end up like as time goes on, and I've seen some older folks maintain a balance between a comfortable life and living on the edges of society. It's definitely possible. Squatting, camping, stealing, diving, and stowing away is a full time, exhausting, stressful job. I love it but I know I'm going to trade in some of the "freedom" of that for a stable house someday where I can host the travelers of tomorrow!

 

[Exprswy2urSkull]

Insightful intelligent comments. Great thread! ...💚 🛤💚
Who wants to go to Mexico? ?? Hmu