Tag: glamsient

The Miracle of Wildflowers 

~ Chelsea Lynn ~ Leave a comment

I struggle with writer’s block. It makes me uptight, irritable, cranky; I joke to my friends that on bad days I feel “artistically constipated.” Today I woke up feeling a strong block. Instead of wallowing in front of my computer, however, I unplugged and took a walk. 

Tall trees marked the entrance of the forest. Pines and Redwoods reached for the sky. I thought of their roots simultaneously pushing down and wondered what they looked like underground. For a moment, I stood still, breathing in and out, acknowledging the exchange between myself and the trees — I breathe their air; they breathe mine — we are one.

Walking into the forest, the sounds of birds filled the air around me as the rush of traffic faded into the distance — peace grew with every step I took. 

Or did it?

As I walked, I quickly caught myself tromping unconsciously; I was literally stomping on the living, breathing being we call Earth, seeing Nature without noticing any of it. Immediately, I stopped and connected to my breath.

“Breathing in, I know that I am walking the in forest.

Breathing out, I stop to watch Nature reveal Her mystery to me.”

For no reason in particular, I looked to my right. Above the bushes I saw a bee — a longtime talisman of mine signaling the Divine presence. In this moment, I felt Nature telling me to notice the flowers. 

I continued along the path, slowing down and listening with greater awareness to the singing birds while soaking in the warmth of the sun that cascaded to the ground between the trees. Only a few steps later, I happened upon a bush with small, bell-shaped, yellow flowers. Had I not caught my unconsciousness moments before, I would have missed them. As I walked on, I noticed more flowers; I saw yellow, blue, white and purple flowers; large clumps of flowers, teeny flowers all on their own. In each flower I could see the sun, the earth, the rain, the bees, generations of flowers, and all the cosmos; a miracle to behold, a miracle that I could see! A tiny white flower with six, triangular petals gave me pause; it looked like the sacred geometry symbolizing consciousness. This flower spoke to me. It said, “you are here, now; we are here together in this now.” I smiled to the tiny flower.

The forest proclaimed an abundance of  miracles and I was present to witness them!

My walk today epitomizes glamsient living: enjoying more with less. The glamsient life is driven by lived experiences, not acquiring possessions. And to live our experiences deeply, we must be present — with practice it is readily available. Noticing the beauty of wildflowers is free; cultivating mindfulness is free; seeing, understanding, and being one with the forest is exquisite.  

 

Wildflowers in the Forest
 
 

Linney

~ Chelsea Lynn ~ 4 Comments

Linney, now the media director for her local NORML chapter and no longer homefree, introduced me to the glamsient lifestyle. We met at my friend James’ Lightning in a Bottle pre-party.

When I walked onto the property, she was sitting with James and a few others next to the salt-water pool. Everyone was in festi-attire. Each unique, yet typical: cat ears, gypsy pants, leggings, crop tops, tie dye, faux fur. 

Linney stood out. She wore a crown made with large pieces of smokey quartz crystal and a see-through little black dress. Gold jewelry sparkled on her ears, neck and wrists; a diamond ring on her right hand glittered in the sun. A long, pashmina scarf draped from her shoulders. She poured a glass of red wine.

James gave me a bear hug when I walked up, but he was mostly preoccupied with his mirror, so I sat down next to Linney.

“Hello!” she smiled. Her teeth glittered like her diamond ring. “Want some wine?”

“I’d love some.”

“Here,” she handed me the glass she had just filled. “I’m Linney.”

“Chelsea,” I said.

“How do you connect with us?” she poured herself a glass of wine.

“I know James. He gave me a ticket.”

“Me too! I think he’s bringing most of us here. He gave his favorite broke friends tickets. Cause he wants us to be there with him.”

“Seriously?” I couldn’t believe it. “How many of us?”

“Maybe, like, ten or fifteen.”

I did the math in my head — more than $3,000 on tickets for his friends. Damn. Wow. Here I was thinking I was special.

Linney laughed, “he’s the best kind of eccentric rich guy: generous.”

“Indeed… To James,” I said, raising my glass.

“To James!” she tapped my glass with hers. “The only reason we’re here.”

“So, you’re broke, too? Hard to believe.”

Linney laughed. “Yep. I’m a hobo!”  

“No way! Me, too!” I laughed along with her.

“You are?! Oh em gee. James finds all the bohemian strays and gives us homes.”

“That’s so funny. I thought I was the only one who lived on his land.”

“Almost everyone here lives on one of his properties. He has so many. You can tell the ones who don’t because they are his rich friends.”

“I would’ve thought you were one of his rich friends!”

“Really?” She looked earnestly into my eyes. 

“Yes! Absolutely!”

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and laughed at the sky, “I’m rich in fun!” 

Cairns at Lightning in a Bottle

Destination: Unknown

~ Chelsea Lynn ~ 4 Comments

Nine months ago I began my life as a glamsient, although I didn’t know it at the time. The lifestyle wasn’t on my radar; I didn’t know it existed. Of course, people were living as glamsients, but I didn’t know any. To my knowledge, they weren’t calling themselves glamsients either — when it came out of the ether and into my mind I googled it and nothing! (Not even urban dictionary!)

Yet here I am, nine months later, living as a glamsient.

The glamsient life hasn’t been easy; living on the road (I’m homefree, not homeless) came with emotional difficulties. Unexpected twists and turns could make life feel erratic and unstable, but the highs of glamsient life — from wine tasting in Carmel to lounging fireside in the Sierras — kept me going. Now that I’ve settled in, the twists and turns no longer make me road-sick; now I feel a sense of unfettered adventure.

What could be more glamsient than that?

 

Unexpected travel to the Muyil ruins, Mexico, January 2016

 

Glamsient

~ Chelsea Lynn ~ 1 Comment

glamsient



glam–zee–uh nt
—adjective

  1. luxury of time, money, material or freedom that is not lasting, enduring, or permanent
  2. luxury of time, money, material or freedom that exists briefly, lasting only a short time 

—noun

  1. a transient person whose lifestyle balances poverty and homelessness with free or habitual indulgence in or enjoyment of freedom, adventure, pleasure, delicacy and refinement; often, a glamsient is successful by creating a patchwork of available resources for travel, housing and work
  2. a transient person who uses work and transience as a means to creating a lifestyle that allows time and money for self-actualizing undertakings such as creating or experiencing art, culture, luxury and self-fulfillment
  3. an impoverished person who uses transience as a means of ministering to indulgence, enjoyment, and self-actualization
  4. a blended word indicating a person and/or lifestyle that combines transience with sumptuous living — not to be confused with a trustafarian, a trustfunda or someone who is independently wealthy, a glamsient does not have family money nor a large sum of money nor a great income

—verb

  1. to behave as a glamsient person
  2. to behave in a glamsient manner
Photo by emsky, emsky.me; glamsient dining in Carmel, CA