A Nomad’s tale by Homeless Luke….
This winter, I returned to Canada for a couple of months, and it was weird.
After spending years abroad, it is a strange experience returning “home,” and combining that with a return during the holidays made it even stranger..
I’ve been a digital nomad since 2017; I currently run a LinkedIn Ghostwriting Agency. Prior to that, I made a living as a micro-influencer running a sustainable fashion blog on Instagram.
I’ve traveled and lived in various countries like the following:
- who cares
- another country
- yep another one
- and another random one…
- the UK
Returning home after you’ve lived abroad for a while is a strange feeling.
I’ve moved away from family and old friends and left behind previous careers in construction and landscaping.
I drove past old job sites and homes that I worked on and was flooded with memories, good and bad, of days gone by.
I drove through mountains, valleys, and small towns and well felt all the feelings..
I drove past a location where 11 years ago, I flipped my truck and almost died.
I drove past an old church where I used to do ministry at.
Lots of driving in Canada.
Lots of memories in Canada.
For me, Canada is a reminder of the past, and while it was necessary to return, I don’t plan to go back for a long, long time.
Why?
I’m a nomadic wanderer, and I was born to roam this globe.
After years of trying to fit myself into cultural norms and failing, I’ve come to accept that being nomadic is in my blood.
I don’t wander for the Instagram stories or the beautiful beaches and amazing historical sites.
It’s just who I am, you know?
I’ve moved every other year since I was a kid, and I enjoy the challenge of starting in a new place and mastering the new territory.
Did you know that humans actually were nomadic for 99% of our history?
Allegedly we’ve roamed from place to place until this technological age which has forced us into tiny boxes and to watch and scroll tiny boxes.
Staying in one place actually isn’t in our DNA, and well, I’ve always felt that.
I simply couldn’t accept getting the mortgage, establishing a stable career, and having the barista know my order at the local coffee shop.
Although to be fair, I’ve always wondered what that was like.
Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.
The nomadic life is the one for me, but sometimes the goodbyes are hard and the open road is lonely.
With that being said, it’s time to look forward and move forward.
Sometimes in order to do that, a final glance back to remember what was and raise a whisky glass is needed.
So as a final reflection of a place, I used to call home…
Here is a cheers to you, Canada, and a goodbye..
8 things I Like about Canada:
- The average person is friendly
- The countryside is gorg
- There’s more space
- Snowy evenings
- Tim Hortons
- Big Trucks
- Flannel
- Toques
- eh
NOTE —
It’s pretty freeing to write this in a small corner of the internet where only a few people will find it. I could post this on my personal LinkedIn and get 100,000 impressions and lots of atta boys and cheers to the journey Luke but…. These thoughts feel too valuable to share there. Weird, I knew because why not just write in a journal then, you say? In a strange way sharing something publicly feels more like owning it to me. Doesn’t matter if anyone reads it or not, but it’s like I’m holding myself accountability to this journey I’m on… Not sure that makes sense to anyone unless they’ve played the social media game, haha, but here’s me ending this big chunky text that is painful to write, but I must leave it chunky…
Anywhoodles, these thoughts are unedited and unfiltered, feel free to come back if you want, I’ll be writing my thoughts on the road this year..
Have a good one, people.
