I recently moved from the city to the jungle. I sold or gave away most of my possessions — house, car, clothes, everything — and left, alone, with nothing more than a backpack. I now live in a remote area of Costa Rica where humans are the minority.

I just got here, and I have a lot to learn. And not just learning how to live here..but about what it means to really live. This is my intentional experiment around real life. What really happens when we decide to just…leave? What happens when someone actually does drop out? When someone actually walks the talk of saying, “Screw it!” to American life, corporate life, secure life, comfortable life. When we seek out the sort of life we really, really want..not the type of life we think we need or the type of life we feel obligated to live.

I did not buy a home or land here, and I am not a retiree. I had no one waiting for me to stay in their home, and no built-in friends or family.

What about the hierarchy of needs? Basic survival needs of food and shelter. Emotional needs of socialization, companionship, love. Well, that’s what I’m investigating, experimenting, with myself.

I am starting essentially homeless, jobless, and friendless. Very literally starting over, from scratch.

I will be posting about the things I see, feel, and learn as I squirm like a reptile out of my old skin and grow into the new. I hope you follow along.

db