Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revision Previous revision
Next revision		 Previous revision
Next revisionBoth sides next revision
michka:transiency_summary [2014-12-02 09:28] – [Spring - Seeding] majamichka:transiency_summary [2014-12-06 18:31] – michka
Line 1: Line 1:
-=====Transiency Summary====+=====Re-designing A Lifestyle: Summarizing One Year of Transiency====
  
-My year spent as a [[http://fo.am/macrotransiencies/|MacroTransient]] at FoAM is now over. One year of not being a student, not being an employee, not being unemployed. One year with no expectations. One year of incredibly pure freedom of action, movement and thought. One year to re-design a lifestyle, figure out tough life choices, defining a personal and professional identity. One year of careful help from FoAM to try to answer that crazy questions: **"What do I want to do with my life ?"**+ 
 +//Michka Mélo, Member and ex-MacroTransient at FoAM// 
 + 
 +{{ :michka:img_1675.jpg?600 |}} 
 + 
 +---- 
 + 
 +**I have been very lucky. One of the lucky few able to spend a year to experiment, well, anything. FoAM offered me a room, breakfast, lunch & dinner, a little money, and fifteen years of knowledge on change management. For the rest, I was free, as long as I would document what I did.** 
 + 
 +**After spending some time getting used to have very light external constraints on my daily life, I timidly started to try out new activities. I learned stuff. I failed. I changed my mind. I discovered that internal constraints were way more tough to get rid off than external ones.** 
 + 
 +**While trying out stuff, I got rid of the Self-Sufficient lifestyle hypothesis I had drafted before coming. I decided to let room for things to happen. I worked on my fear of emptyness. I fought against procrastination and pernicious addictions. I unraveled some nodes strongly tightened deep inside, and possibilities opened up.** 
 + 
 +**The second half of the year flew way too fast. I am still living under the bounce of the overwhelming encounters and experiences I lived. These experiences paved the way to go. I finished the year by trying to set up the conditions to keep space for experimentations and deep personal work in my post-Transiency life. Because more than meticulously designing a bright future,, what seems the most sound to me is to spend time to know better who I am, and work to find answers to the deepest questions that torment me.** 
 + 
 +**I am not sure I can remember last time life has felt so passionnating.** 
 + 
 +---- 
 + 
 +My year spent as a [[http://fo.am/macrotransiencies/|MacroTransient]] at FoAM is now over. One year of not being a student, not being an employee, not being unemployed. One year with no expectations. One year of incredibly pure freedom of action, movement and thought. One year to re-design a lifestyle, figure out tough life choices, defining a personal and professional identity. One year of careful help from FoAM to try to answer that crazy question: **"What do I want to do with my life ?"**
  
 Below is an attempt to summarize this year, and maybe give you a hint of how this feels, or even give you the will to go through the same intense and rewarding process. Below is an attempt to summarize this year, and maybe give you a hint of how this feels, or even give you the will to go through the same intense and rewarding process.
Line 35: Line 54:
 By using fine-tuned appropriate technologies, I would free some time to volunteer for the cause of moneyless groups, involved at local or global scale. By using fine-tuned appropriate technologies, I would free some time to volunteer for the cause of moneyless groups, involved at local or global scale.
  
-In addition to correcting my lifestyle unbalance, this hypothesis would also improve my coherence, as I would reduce my dependency on industries and practices I disagree with because of their environment and social impact.+In addition to correcting my lifestyle unbalance, this hypothesis would also improve my consistency, as I would reduce my dependency on industries and practices I disagree with because of their environment and social impact.
  
 I entered this Transiency with the idea to implement this hypothesis, or at least test it. It did not turn out exactly how expected. I entered this Transiency with the idea to implement this hypothesis, or at least test it. It did not turn out exactly how expected.
Line 71: Line 90:
 {{ :michka:loving.jpg?400 |}} {{ :michka:loving.jpg?400 |}}
  
-Hopefully, some sweetness was here in the middle of the two hard challenges I just mentionned.+Fortunately, some sweetness was here in the middle of the two hard challenges I just mentionned.
  
 Amélie and I had been together for a few months at the beginning of this Transiency. Thanks to this new period opening in my life, we now had breakfast together every morning. We also spent the Aikido-free (on my side) and teaching-free (on her side) nights together, often doing nothing else than having a tasty (vegetarian) lunch together, and chatting. Amélie and I had been together for a few months at the beginning of this Transiency. Thanks to this new period opening in my life, we now had breakfast together every morning. We also spent the Aikido-free (on my side) and teaching-free (on her side) nights together, often doing nothing else than having a tasty (vegetarian) lunch together, and chatting.
Line 89: Line 108:
 I understood in this experience how hard it can be to say no to an offer when you do not know exactly how to phrase what you would do instead, and you can only intuitively feel it is very important. I understood in this experience how hard it can be to say no to an offer when you do not know exactly how to phrase what you would do instead, and you can only intuitively feel it is very important.
  
-Hopefully, my Master Thesis Supervisor did not take it the wrong way, and offered me the job again last August. But more on that later.+Fortunately, my Master Thesis Supervisor did not take it the wrong way, and offered me the job again last August. But more on that later.
  
 ===Cooking=== ===Cooking===
Line 133: Line 152:
 //The Moneyless Man// is about the experiment Mark Boyle performed over one year. He tried to live without earning, spending or using any money during one year. It is great book, easy to read, and full of tips on how to reduce your reliance on a destructive monetary economy. However, I could not find any answers to the two most pressing questions I had with moneyless lifestyle: //The Moneyless Man// is about the experiment Mark Boyle performed over one year. He tried to live without earning, spending or using any money during one year. It is great book, easy to read, and full of tips on how to reduce your reliance on a destructive monetary economy. However, I could not find any answers to the two most pressing questions I had with moneyless lifestyle:
    * How to get healed in case of a big incident ? Mark Boyle relied on the rights he precedently acquired to the British Security system. However, the book gives hints on how to self-heal yourself with plants, and how mutual aid provides you help when you need it the most.    * How to get healed in case of a big incident ? Mark Boyle relied on the rights he precedently acquired to the British Security system. However, the book gives hints on how to self-heal yourself with plants, and how mutual aid provides you help when you need it the most.
-   * What happens to your social life with less coherent people ? Mark Boyle says that it was one of the most difficult aspect of his experiment. He could not spend time with friends in money-based social activities, which is OK for one year, but for more ? Does it make sense to quit constructive friendships for the sake of coherence ? +   * What happens to your social life with less coherent people ? Mark Boyle says that it was one of the most difficult aspect of his experiment. He could not spend time with friends in money-based social activities, which is OK for one year, but for more ? Does it make sense to quit constructive friendships for the sake of consistency ? 
 I think it is important for me to be able to meet people which opinions are far away from mines, to understand better their viewpoints and what builds the difference between me and them. I have the feeling that if I live a moneyless or self-sufficient life, I would cut myself out of such opportunities. I think it is important for me to be able to meet people which opinions are far away from mines, to understand better their viewpoints and what builds the difference between me and them. I have the feeling that if I live a moneyless or self-sufficient life, I would cut myself out of such opportunities.
  
Line 292: Line 311:
 Again, I think that the lifestyle balance will be quite good.  Again, I think that the lifestyle balance will be quite good. 
  
-In terms of coherence, I changed a little bit my mind. My "purist" vision of coherence between opinions and actions  felt inhibiting, as most of the non-marginal action in this society would bring me to induce some destructive consequences somewhere in the world. +In terms of consistency, I changed a little bit my mind. My "purist" vision of consistency between opinions and actions  felt inhibiting, as most of the non-marginal action in this society would bring me to induce some destructive consequences somewhere in the world. 
  
-After discussing about it with may different persons, I decided to move towards a more experimental approach, which leaves the issue of coherence a little bit aside, and let space for potentially imperfect though impactful actions.+After discussing about it with may different persons, I decided to move towards a more experimental approach, which leaves the issue of consistency a little bit aside, and let space for potentially imperfect though impactful actions.
  
 {{ :michka:new_hypothesis.jpg?400 |}} {{ :michka:new_hypothesis.jpg?400 |}}
  
-The question of coherence remains open, and I plan to spend some of my free time reading, discussing and experimenting about it.+The question of consistency remains open, and I plan to spend some of my free time reading, discussing and experimenting about it.
  
-In a way, I am back to the starting point, which is testing a new lifestyle hypothesis, strengthened with the experience, work and tools learned this year. +In a way, I am back to the starting point of a new cycle, ready to test a new lifestyle hypothesis, strengthened with the experience, work and tools learned during this year. 
  
 This makes me think that the Transiency will, in my case, continue a little bit as a continuous process for a while. This makes me think that the Transiency will, in my case, continue a little bit as a continuous process for a while.
  • michka/transiency_summary.txt
  • Last modified: 2014-12-19 09:12
  • by maja