In piecing together these ethereal concepts I have been called to read a few other books recommended by the writer on his website, Ishmael.org. The first book I found is Radical Simplicity by Dan Price. It is the story of how the author lives his life in as simple a way as he can while still interacting with the modern world. He is not a full hermit, completely sheltered away from the outside world in a Grizzly Adams  style cabin. In fact, he produces a monthly magazine that he puts out to thousands of people, has a copier, propane heaters and even a telephone and electrical service. The simplicity shows up more in what he doesn’t have.

• He doesn’t have tons of space in which to collect a bunch of unused and under-appreciated stuff.
• He doesn’t have tons of clothes competing for show time.
• He doesn’t have a typical, oversized house which consumes a ton of energy and resources.
• He doesn’t have a mortgage.
• He doesn’t have a commute.
• He doesn’t have a full dining room with twelve intricately detailed place settings.

I could go on, of course, but you see the picture. He has simplified his life so that the outside pressures of the world do not have an impact on him, unless he chooses to allow them in. For instance, he spent many years traveling the world with a contract for a writing gig. While he did that though, he took his tent wherever he went. He avoided hotels at all costs. He maintained his simplicity wherever he went.

Why did Dan Price do this? He did this so that he could experience freedom. Freedom is a very powerful thing, yet so many people think that it only comes after working hard and long for many years to get to a financial position where your money opens the doors of freedom. Dan Price has shown that that is not necessary. He shows how he gained freedom by simplifying his life, by taking away all the pressures that society has artificially placed on our lives.

While I don’t believe that everyone would agree with Dan Price’s version of freedom or the path he took, I do believe that everyone can gain something by going through a process of simplification. A few years ago, we simplified our lives greatly by selling off about 80% of our belongings. It was very liberating for me during that time. I felt a huge relief. I had never been one who likes trinkets and “stuff” so it felt good to eliminate much of the “stuff” we had accumulated over the years. It was tough for Amelia at first, but she is a veteran nowadays.

Dan Price’s book has gotten me thinking of new ways to simplify again. For nearly three years, we have had a bunch of our remaining “stuff” packed away in boxes. Outta sight. Outta mind. Outta there?

Granted, somethings we are keeping because they will be useful later and too costly to replace. Like Tupperware for food storage when we live in our own place again. Especially in Costa Rica where we will have to keep the bugs at bay. But there are other things that we could get rid of here and replace when we get to our destination. Under this category would be things like cups, plates and cutlery. This type of thing is very cheap in almost every location in the world. There is another category that is hardest to figure out. We have a bunch of artwork that we have collected over the years. I have heard horror stories about art taken to the tropics and it gets destroyed by the humidity. I couldn’t forgive myself for letting that happen. And if I took them to Costa Rica, would they really look good in that setting.

So, while I love to be surrounded by artwork, it may be more realistic to replace what we currently have with something more suited to the locale. Besides, the kids are constantly creating artwork for us with their extremely creative minds.

We do have a prize piece that we got specifically because we had the perfect spot for it in our house in Ottawa. I can’t be certain that we would be able to find a place for it in Costa Rica. That piece is a pewter and lucite sculpture my world renowned marine artisit Wyland called Dolphin Tribe. If you or someone you know is interested in purchasing this piece, let me know.

As an example, my wife and I have a dream of living in Costa Rica. Part of the process has been designing our future Costa Rican home for about 18 months. The first time I did this, we didn’t even have property to build on. I had everything on a flat, square plot. It was great and it incorporated all of the details I always thought I wanted. Then we went to look at lots and found out that the lots were more interesting than we had ever considered. That is, anything BUT flat and square.

I didn’t just drop the idea of living in Costa Rica. In fact, this new information made the prospect even more exciting. With respect to the house, there were so many new ideas that I could incorporate. In fact, every bit of new information changes what I can or want to do with the house. In fact, I have over 20 different designs that I have played with, dealing with about 5 different concepts.

You can see the latest design on my Flickr page. The house design has changed, but the main idea of living in Costa Rica has always stayed strong. With every new design, I get more and more excited. In fact, this is a great way to visualize the end result of achieving my dream.

So don’t let changes allow you to abandon your dreams. Just look at them closer and see how you can improve them.

What is it exactly?

The top level is the main house with the kitchen, semi-circular dining balcony, living room and hallway to office and master bedroom. The master bedroom has a glass shower that faces out to the private courtyard.

The second level is where the bedrooms are for our three children, plus their common bathroom. This is accessed from a circular staircase that matches the curve of the semicircular dining balcony.

The third level is where the guest rooms are located, along with the outdoor kitchen that they could use. Behind this is where the car would be parked. The two lines in back represent the driveway that would wrap around below the pool and to the bottom of the property. Notice that the pool has an infinity edge that would allow those coming up the driveway to see the water coming over the edge.

The green areas that you see are, as much as possible, the natural slope of the property. There will be a lot of trees on the property, I just haven’t bothered to put them into the model.

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.