Watching trends emerge is an interesting pastime.
When I was growing up,
young couples were accustomed to starting their lives in a small” starter” home.
These houses were quite charming and manageable.
We should have stayed there.
But we didn’t
and over time,
We moved to larger and larger houses.
Our parents had big houses. We needed bigger houses.
Because bigger is always better!
What we didn’t see coming was the enslavement that came with all of it……..
Mortgages, utilities, improvements, lawn maintenance, expensive cars, taxes, country club dues.
Those things robbed us of our financial security.
The complicated, high maintenance lives we created
robbed us of the time to properly enjoy all that life has to offer.
Life became a leaking “Titanic” and people worked 7 days a week to keep it afloat.
That trend ultimately resulted in many couples purchasing mansions they didn’t really need and couldn’t afford.
Acquiring, along the way, a mountain of useless stuff and debt they would be forced to unload ;
in many instances, in Bankruptcy court!
Eventually,
The kids left home and “downsizing”
became the term we used for moving to a smaller home or apartment.
There seemed to be an element of shame in that for some people.
The mind- set for many in my generation was predicated on the American myth that
BIGGER IS ALWAYS BETTER.
The implication seemed to be: if we were forced to go smaller, we had failed in some way.
We’ve all lived to see the error in that .
This new generation may be the first one not to surpass the financial success (and excess) of their parents.
That is a good thing.
It has allowed them to re-evaluate the way they look at life.
What do they want from their lives, their jobs, their families?
I think that re-evaluation has resulted in a stunning turn of events.
Younger families today are concerned with the environment,
with the footprint they are leaving as individuals and as a generation on this planet.
They are willing (actually eager) to want & need less in the way of consumables.
Interest in living a quality life, which leaves ample time to spend with their families,
is what motivates them.
They want to to be mobile- maybe move to another part of the country without having to sell a home
and they can do that with a Tiny House.
My generation cared about the environment when we were in college.
But we went on to do every thing possible to ignore what we felt so much passion for in the first place.
We bought bigger
we consumed more,
we wrecked havoc on the planet
and finally,
many became political conservatives who
now don’t even believe there is a problem with the environment.
That saddens me a great deal.
In general, we didn’t really think about free time.
There was money that needed to be made
and it couldn’t be made working a paltry 40 hours a week!
We all flew through our lives at”MACH 2 with our hair on fire”,
so we could get up the next day and do it all over again.
What is the point of that?
Now, we’re at the age where contemporaries are beginning to die and
some must look back on lives where there has been
nothing but work, the pursuit of wealth & the acquisition
of possessions we now would like to dispose of!
I’m envious of this younger generation because they have had to create
a new philosophy
forge a new path
and break away from the traditional American work ethic.
They will be happier having fewer possessions and more time.
They are going TO LIVE AND ENJOY their lives;
not merely work to support THEIR LIFESTYLE.
Perhaps they’ll even be able to keep their souls,
while enjoying all the gifts this life has to offer.
A Tiny House Allows you to Have
A Bigger Life.
Less Waste
Less Debt
Less Stuff
More Freedom
More Joy
More Fun
More Free Time
More Hope for the Planet.
I can see it all so clearly now.
Too bad my generation didn’t have this vision 50 years ago.
