Today is my birthday, I am 41 years old. When I was 39 I realized I was unhappy and feeling trapped in a place without many friends or a sense of community, where everything was so expensive that even with my high paying job I was paycheck to paycheck. Where even the environment felt hostile and strange. I had been trying to make it work for years, and I finally said to myself it's not working. I need to make some big changes. I quit the job. I moved back across the country. I spent a year doing the Artist's Way, meditating and listening to my intuition, and living on faith. It didn't feel good, because change never does. It's been a lot of discomfort and confronting fears about maybe I blew up an ok life for a pipe dream of a better one. On my 40th birthday I was unemployed, homeless, and without any clue how it was all going to work out. But now I have a house with a big deck and a yard for less than half the rent I was paying in the Seattle area for a tiny apartment. I have a job that pays less, but is fully remote and I work with really nice, wonderful people. I lead a community group which is already huge and active even though we aren't even a year old. I have so many friends that when I got hurt this week I've had people checking in on me constantly. I am feeling blessed and lucky. Things don't work out in our plans, but in God's plan. And as such it works out even better than we could imagine. I am glad that I was brave enough to make big changes. I am so excited for what the future has in store for me ๐Ÿฅฐ

Replies (126)

Happy birthday! Just turned the 40 in April. I've often wondered what my life would be like in different area, but in the end I can't leave Appalachia
If you like fudging tax numbers and not being a true steward of the public resources and playing constant insane political semantics games then I highly recommend government work in the PNW. There's always jobs because the turnover is high ๐Ÿ˜‚
That's what I thought too ๐Ÿคฃ You'll make over $150k a year. But you've got to live there and deal with their trifling nonsense in person and spend $140k a year for that privilege ๐Ÿค‘
Blessings you you and a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! ๐ŸŽ‚๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ Hope you have an amazing day! Glad to hear youโ€™re much happier now in life also! Life is short and we have to enjoy the time we are given. Many blessings to you Kip. ๐Ÿ™
1776's avatar
1776 2 days ago
Happy Birthday ๐ŸŽ‚
Thank you! I'm walking a lot better. And my back is good for a morning of chores. I deep cleaned my room this morning, which I'm excited about because it's the first time in this new house. Now for resting, marijuana chocolate and fantasy movies ๐Ÿ˜
Thatโ€™s good to know! Youโ€™re welcome! Eat up and relax, sounds like a great time!
Okay I was gonna say, itโ€™s gotta be something like that because if it were just the getting laid part, I donโ€™t see how you could have an issue ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ
Well that's part of it. But also I am deeply and unsettlingly weird, and so even people who are physically attracted to me and try to hook up with me will be scared away by just getting to know me ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ˜ญ I got sent this a lot when I was younger because I am too far in the danger zone and every man hears the warning bells ๐Ÿคฃ IT'S NOT MY FAULT THE CIA FUCKED WITH MY BRAIN WHEN I WAS A KID! image
I thought I was too crazy for a man too. Just found me a crazier one. Iโ€™m still a little shook Iโ€™m actually married. And you arenโ€™t weird, most men are just too normal in a weird way
Awesome... that is a great feel good post. And a perfect example of nostr working right now, today... it doesn't need 10 million for users to be "successful". Congrats to you and your successes!
And including male version Hot Crazy Matrix A Man's Guide to Women - ORIGINAL
About two years ago I discovered that conspiracy about gifted and talented... And realized a lot of the things I grew up thinking were normal turned out to be not normal. But hey, it explains a lot of the difficulties I've had so I like this perspective well enough ๐Ÿคฃ image
I hear you there. Never heard much about it publicly and then about 3 years ago heard some stuff randomly and it all felt to close to homeโ€ฆ3rd grade for me. Timeframe sound similar to you or no?
Change is hard, way to stick it out and make the change you needed in your life
can i ask a perhaps silly question? how did you go from 'homeless' to having a big house, etc... in less than a year? just would love to understand the math
I chose to leave my home. I put my stuff in storage without having a next place set up and without knowing where I was going to go. Me and Aurora spent over a year crashing with friends, staying in budget hotels, or AirBnbs. The math was possible largely because Bitcoin is freedom money. I did not hold, I used it to super power my personal development. But also because I have very strong earnings potential. Even when I was unemployed I published and won award money. Also I don't own, I rent, and it's not a big house but it's got a big yard because it's rural. I'm about 3 hours away from the nearest big city. Idk if you're like purity testing homelessness or what. I literally spent the time meditating and doing random art and psy-gym it wasn't a time of poverty and desperation and I don't think my post suggested that ๐Ÿคฃ
Got it, that makes more sense! In my mind, homelessness meant sleeping in a car or on the street because one has no money, but you meant crashing with friends and Airbnbs. I didn't think of that when I read your original post. Makes sense how you're able to move to the current life you have in a year, thanks for clearing that up for me!
Aww thank you so much! It was a quiet weekend as I'm still healing from getting hit by that car ๐Ÿ˜‚ but I had treats and fun movies and it was a very good peaceful celebration ๐Ÿฅฐ Plans for the year ๐Ÿค” continue building an exit ramp for myself and my community!
A lot of folks would argue it starts North of Richmond now ๐Ÿค” I'm a Marylander and have been told constantly I'm not Southern. But like, it's the Old Line State! It's literally where the Mason Dixon line starts! People don't know their own history SMDH ๐Ÿ˜ฎโ€๐Ÿ’จ
Pretty much that funny little line that splits PA from MD. It's fun to find the little stone markers. They have them caged up in a lot of locations. > A lot of folks would argue it starts North of Richmond now Very contentious line somewhere across VA depending on who you ask lol
But you have to admit they have brought us the very interesting, mostly cringe, and often hillarious "Florida Man" stories. So there is that...
Kudzai Kutukwa's avatar
Kudzai Kutukwa 18 hours ago
Happy belated birthday! What a journey you have been on and I pray that the years to come be filled with joy and more fulfilment and adventures too! Keep shining bright and twerk when stressed ๐Ÿ˜‚ ๐Ÿซ‚
Thank you!!!! The worse part about getting hit by that car is my spontaneous twerking is now just acting as a signal that my back's not done healing. But it's ok I'll get there and be throwing it a circle soon enough ๐Ÿคฃ
Kudzai Kutukwa's avatar
Kudzai Kutukwa 18 hours ago
Haha! Spontaneous twerks are part of the healing journey soon you will be able to put your back into it just like old times ๐Ÿ˜„ Hope you get better soonest and do take it easy, we still need to get you hitched asap ๐Ÿ˜
Kudzai Kutukwa's avatar
Kudzai Kutukwa 17 hours ago
๐Ÿ˜‚ the young studs of Nostr are definitely paying attention and will be flooding your inbox soon! Happy hunting ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿคž๐Ÿป
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