Once in a while it hits people. We don't have to live life in the way we've been told to.
Not all those who wander are lost. How lost we felt... Now, we wander, and slowly, we find ourselves.
Hey mellon! I am Mariel. My partner who writes and wanders with me is Misty. You may know him as our Legolas and Faelas Cosplayer from our other book, "Ardalings." We met volunteering at an animal sanctuary and have been together for six years this 2022 Halloween.
We live a little off the beaten track. We are wanderers with nature. What's that mean you wonder? Well, we do not live in a house or apartment, nor do we van dwell in a city. Instead, we camp full time in public United States forests and deserts and live mostly off grid. We have chosen to have few modern conveniences but are very comfortable in our '94 Chevy van named "Sylvan." Sylvan cost us under $1,000 USD. She is beautiful:
Ever since we were young we both longed to live among nature. At school Misty drew diagrams of sailing ships and researched survival skills, dreaming of a great escape. I eagerly awaited camping trips every year; first with the Girl Scouts, and later with the very wrong-for-me ex who only took me camping in year one of nine... But that's a whole other chapter.
Camping trips and moments in nature were so fleeting. It was painful to tear away from the forest. It felt like we were being wrenched away from our soul.
For many years, negative, fault-finding paradigms and unnatural toil were foist upon us. The perfectionist pressures of society blocked out the wonder of the moment. Life passed by, but often we were not truly living it.
One Moby song, "he only just discovered the sun... on the last day," offers a haunting reminder of all that we miss by going too fast. Beauty is unfolding right in front of us, and perfect peace is a radiant treasure always buried within. We just need to peel away the sticky layers of anxiety and regret to let our true boundless selves shine.
As Lao Tsu said, "If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." We do not want to only just discover the sun on the last day. So, we changed direction. We embarked upon the camping trip of a lifetime. 365 days a year. Over 3 years and counting. Learning to be in the moment, to have balance between toil and peace.
I never knew this was possible before, but in some countries one can live rent-free in a vehicle. The vehicle can be a big RV like a palace with all the modern conveniences, a small van like ours, or anything in between. You could even live out of an ultralight airplane, a Prius or a motorcycle. One can also live on the sea in a sailboat. Perhaps we will someday, if the sea survives that long. (Calling all environmentalists! Please, watch Seaspiracy on Netflix and read our favorite Wattpad book, "Rhodoreef" for inspo to help our blue planet thrive again. 💙) But one thing is certain. We want to live rent-free and in the wild.
If you are in a country that is not conducive to vanlife, there may be clever ways to adventure abroad for "perpetual tourism" as a "digital nomad" living this way. But that is not necessary. There exist a multitude of other ways to live more simply and freely without wandering, such as living on inexpensive land or sharing a home with many friends. 'Tis extraordinary how many "life hacks" can be found through diligent research.
How often do we move, and where? We tune climate and temperature by moving north and/or up in elevation when it is hot, and south and/or down in elevation when it is cold, though we also have a cozy little wood stove now. Every 1,000 feet in elevation is a 3-5 degree Fahrenheit difference. We only significantly move camp roughly about five to ten times a year. Thus we use little fuel, but our plant diet actually reduces our greenhouse gas footprint by 73% to 87%. More on that soon, it deserves its own chapter, but here is a short video.
Also, it's funny but, I don't even know how to drive yet. 😅 Misty does all the driving.
What do we do for fun? 🥰 We invent songs for each plant we forage. Watching our Ardaling neighbors is our absolute favorite. We treasure misty mountains, moss, ferns, epic waterfalls, vast landscapes, hammocks, and laying in hot springs watching the moon rise and the stars shift. Plus, a daily abundance of carbs & cuddles and creative activism.
In a bid to tamp down perfectionism, many of the chapters in this book will be simply a stream of consciousness, not edited and perfected. I have another book I am writing with half a million words (it is actually much like this one - the story of our adventures, but in romantic fantasy style). I am also a nonprofit part time Instagrammer providing entertainment as a platform for empowering education, and I participate in other volunteer work.
I must admit... I'm addicted to work. ADD and OCD symptoms plague me. I'm an empath and an HSP, and knowing so many trillions of fellow Ardalings are suffering makes me want to help all I can. Usually when I work, I am tense and hold my breath and I fail to call a halt to the mighty tasks I set myself. My mind is always whirling with ways to help others. I fail to say "What's done is finished" at a healthy time. Thus I find myself needing to find balance with self care. To slow down... watch the chipmunks, listen to the birds, and walk with the deers.
Other Ardalings / Earthlings can teach us to put away our complicated artifice like devices and camera and simply focus on self care in the moment. I have seen sunbathing lizard-folk, squirrel-folk relaxing on boughs, deer-folk foraging happily, soaring covens of ravens dancing on the wind, unhurried snail-folk sliding along, and bear-folk reposing in the ferns on a misty mountainside. They do not work too hard. I wish to be more like them. I also love this video from Misty that reminds me to self care.
Does anyone else struggle with this too? ❤️ And ~ I just want to make clear ~ you are never burdening me with DMs. Please feel free to keep messaging anytime, and I'll respond when I can. I love hearing from you, and helping if I can. Directly helping others is my favorite part of our Elf Adventures presence online and why we have established this platform.
I hold one degree in Sustainability and Ethics, and Misty earned three degrees in Music Performance and Plant Based Nutrition (from Cornell University). He offers free nutrition coaching for living long and prospering, DM us anytime. I am a self taught writer and photographer, and I learned gardening from my grandfather. Misty is a self taught mechanic. He can fix almost anything! You can always find him in a nook researching practical, technical crafts and survival skills. I'm so grateful for this because I balk at research.
I'm 34, an ENFP. My pronoun is she. Misty is 27, an INFP and he / they. We are both empaths, and I'm also an HSP, or "Highly Sensitive Person."
(update, I'm almost 36 and Misty is 28)
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Do you know your Meyers-Briggs personality type? What are your pronouns? Tell us about yourself. 🤗
We will each write chapters and they'll be kind of like blogs. Many will be tales from our adventures and life experiences with photos and vlogs, and sometimes we will explain how they tie in to our fantasy novel Ardalings. Here's some topics:
❥ nomadic living & camping
❥ HSP/Empath
❥ mental health and self care
❥ follow your heart, find your tribe
❥ body positivity & ED recovery
❥ things I would tell my younger self
❥ elven/nature spirituality
❥ day in the life
❥ song parodies
❥ adventure journals
❥ personal stories (like how we met)
❥ animal neighbors
❥ animal liberation
❥ spotlights on heroes
❥ minimalism ~ owning your favorite things
❥ elven eco secrets/how to save the planet
❥ cruelty-free eco skin care as full time campers
❥ United States Parks we visit
❥ mindfulness and gratitude
❥ metta and compassion
❥ letting go and forgiveness
❥ plant based nutrition for living ten years longer & stronger from our nutritionist Mistilas
❥ cheap healthy delish plant based recipes
❥ anti-speciesism
❥ ethical eco clothing and cosplay
❥ the science of accurate erotica
❥ the science of accurate elves
❥ how to inspire positive change in everyday life
❥ vasectomy & our choice to be childfree
❥ the animal sanctuary where we met
❥ Challenge 22 where we volunteer
❥ tree climbing & other fun outdoor hobbies
❥ other interesting things we have learned
❥ favorite works by others, excerpts and reviews
❥ best speeches you'll ever hear
Which are you most interested in reading about?
(Note: When needed, warnings will be given at the beginning of chapters.)
Thank you for putting "Not All Who Wander" in your library! As an extrovert in total hermitage for nigh on three years, it's fun to share. Misty is so knowledgeable about so many things and we both love helping others—which is a large part of why we live this lifestyle and work mostly pro bono. Hopefully you will find this blog book entertaining, uplifting and meaningful. I hope to learn from it too.
A few short videos 😊
Our Instagrams:
Mirkwood.Elf.Adventures
Legolas.Cosplay.Romance
LegolasCosplay
Elves.Are.Vegan
Gaia.Ever.free
Ardaling.Faeriel
Ardaling.Faelas
Ardaling.Legolas
😋 Vegan lembas dessert:
We also have our Legolas Cosplay Love Story on here, it's called Ardalings.
There's a mature version (with skippable spice) and when I have time I'll complete the censored version too. For over two years I've put in over 4k hours of work on it, and Misty helps. You can go to the "Ardalings: Legolas Love Story" description and "Welcome To Our Illustrated Novel" chapter to read more about it. 😊
Thanks for reading!