After Paris, Eric and I decided we really wanted to travel in Japan. Why not we figured, we had the time, the freedom, we always dreamed of a life of unfettered travel and now we can actually do it. We bought a one way ticket Paris to Tokyo and off we went.

In truth, we had already been on the road in France for 3 months. It had started to get a bit tiresome, but we did love Japan and at first, the thrill of a new place, the freedom to go, do, see, whatever we wanted outweighed the downsides.

But as the weeks drew on, us going from one town to the next, The glamour began to wear off. For me, with my asthma and environmental sensitivities, not every hotel will work. With my digestive problems, not every food is going to be OK. I started to become hyper-aware of how much of my time, every single day, my research, my stress, revolves around meeting basic needs – everyday I need to find safe shelter, food. I go to sleep, only to wake-up and need to do it all again.

The truth is this is the reality of life all the time. Meeting our basic needs is a daily struggle. It is hard. It takes time and care. It’s not ever guaranteed.  But when you are settled, in a home, and a daily routine, it is so easily obfuscated – the roof is already over our heads, we have a closet filled with clothes and a fridge filled with foods we enjoy. We forget that raw survival, just managing and caring for our body, is a chore to be endured.

On the road though it was so clear what a crushing burden this body, these needs, simple survival really is. And what is more, is how clear it is that this reality is the same everywhere; in each new place, the food may change, the language, the architecture, the customs, but in the end everyone everywhere is consumed with doing the daily tasks necessary to survive.  

Eric and I had dreamed so long of this early retirement. This period of our life when we could actually be free. We labored so long for that freedom, delayed gratification, did the hard stuff…now that I am here though I have to wonder, if each day is a struggle to meet basic bodily needs, is this really the freedom I had dreamed of?