FINDING YOUR TRIBE/CARAVAN

[Gypsy108]

As much as i LOVE to be alone....i am somewhat terrified of being at the wrong place at the wrong time...alone....i'm trying to get a feeling for this nomad life by learning as much as i can here....i know i MUST get out to the RTR's and meet ya'll in person.....some people here i feel very comfortable with (vibes),and i would trust them site unseen...lol

I'm just curious as to how YOU found your tribe/caravan....

Thank you  :heart:

 

[B and C]

The RTR is the first destination we had when I retired. We had traveled and camped almost our entire married life. The people we found there worked for us. Of course we had other friends that are now retired too so that helps. I will be camping alone mostly when I can get back on the road.

I hope you can find what you are looking for.

 

[highdesertranger]

your tribe is out there you just need to find it. the RTR is a great place to start. highdesertranger

 

[crofter]

Or you could camp with a caravan. While the RTR is once a year, the caravans are ongoing.   -crofter

 

[maki2]

Being alone in the wrong place at the wrong time can happen to anyone in even normal everyday life. For instance the other day at around 5:00 pm on a perfectly normal weekday afternoon in downtown Seattle the wrong place at the wrong time was reality. People were getting off work and walking to their bus stop to get on their way home. As they passed in front of a McDonald's two men who had been walking past it while loudly arguing then pulled out guns and started shooting at each other. One woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time died and 6 others were injured, one critically and one of the persons who got shot was a child.

You need to put this into perspective you have been alone many thousands of times in your life going about your ordinary business and most likely nothing much has happened to you. You could be with a tribe or you could be alone and unexpected things could happen. But the chances of it are very slim. Certainly much slimmer than being on a downtown street in a city.

But if you have been the victim of random violence then it is understandable why you would be very uncomfortable traveling along. Or of course if the news media has gotten to you with a constant bombardment of the reporting of violence. Being with a group of strangers can bring trouble as well as helping to avoid it. It is not as if you have vetted everyone in a group of strangers.

 

[Gypsy108]

Or you could camp with a caravan. While the RTR is once a year, the caravans are ongoing.   -crofter

RIGHT....just finding the RIGHT caravan....

 

[Gypsy108]

So true Maki2.....sometimes i just lay in bed picturing myself out on the road by myself....always loving my alone time...then realizing "now i am REALLY alone...."   and while i lay there thinking about that... i get a weird feeling of a loneliness i never experienced before....but yeah...you are so right about the fact it that it is always a possibility wherever you go, you could be at the wrong place at the wrong time......VERY GOOD POINT !!!!!!

 

[maki2]

I have been on a number of longer road trips on my own. It seems like there is always a day or two at the start of the journey where I feel really sad and wonder what the heck I am doing, even to the point of weepy. Often brought on by some car trouble or some other stressor.  But I know that I can also feel that way with any major change such as buying a house, selling a house, leaving a job or taking a new job, moving to a different town, etc. I have come to realize it is a perfectly normal emotional reaction to have come upon me. It actually means very little in the terms of my decisions, it is just a temporary situation, an emotional reaction to the stresses of big changes. Rather like that aftermath of an adrenal surge or the weepy blues women get sometimes from the menses cycle. If you experience it remember....this too shall pass. It won't be a constant in your life so don't let it throw you into a tizzy thinking that you have made a terrible decision. I have seen postings in this forum where women hit that point and then give up without understanding that it is just a temporary stage in the process of adjusting to change.

 

[Gypsy108]

YES...change is stressful....good point !    I have NO sense of direction !!!   I have only driven about 50 miles by myself (the longest destination) haha.   I have traveled by bus, train and plane alone,all over the states and Europe....no problem.....it wouldn't even be a matter of missing my family so much...I am terrified of getting lost and not knowing where i am....haha...i take the same familiar roads everywhere i go....i hate to go a route i've never been on before....haha...i really will be stepping out of my comfort zone to hit the open road... with no direction home...like a rolling stone...haha....it will just make me feel a little more secure knowing i have a tribe/caravan out there...and i KNOW i will make friends & find them eventually.....i crave so much to see those millions of stars you guys are enjoying.....it's been DECADES since i've seen the sky like that !!!!

 

[WanderingRose]

RIGHT....just finding the RIGHT caravan....

The only way to find like minded people to travel with is to get out there and start.

You will meet people you like, and those you don’t.

It may be helpful for you to spread your independent wings a bit, before you jump, so that you can feel more confident in being alone and managing things by yourself.

It may take you awhile to find your people, and confidence comes from doing.

 

[michaelwnoakes]

I bought a gps so all I have think about is following the purple line. Just do your dreams, it will be ok.

 

[maki2]

So what you are now doing is facing the fears of getting lost. You know that a road goes two directions. You can always backtrack if need be.

Right now are sitting there scaring yourself with everything that can go wrong before you even find out if your fear is realistic. So learn to read maps and use a GPS. You can practice those skills close by in the area you now live in. You do not have to wait until you are out on the road. If you were in the military you would learn them in boot camp before you were ever sent out to the troop you got assigned to. These things are not the major obstacles you are making them out to be.

So what you need to learn RIGHT NOW is a behavior modification technique to shut off then endless stream of anxiety that you are getting wound up in. That technique is super simple. When you start on the path of endlessly scaring yourself just tell yourself...STOP, ENOUGH. It is no different than when you have someone get in your face telling you that you must do this or must do that and you are sick of them ordering you around. You tell them to put a sock in it. But people don't realize you can tell your own inner voice to knock it off and quit bugging the hell out of you. Back off your own self, your own thoughts by saying ENOUGH because that is the person who is getting in your face causing you to be stressed out. It takes a bit of practice but you can learn to do it. This method was taught to me by a professional counselor 40 years ago. The method works and I have used it during many of the stressful times over the years to back off the self induced anxiety and self induced retributions or situations where I have had to deal with abusive individuals that I could not get out of my head. It is so easy to get wound up into those endless tracks but you do have a powerful weapon to shut off that dripping faucet of thoughts in your head. Just tell it STOP over and over until it stops. The more you do it the faster the response time to it gets. Like everything it takes practice until you train your brain to respond to commands, movements, situations etc.

This is part of learning self control. Everyone has to learn these things about self talk or they won't be able to achieve what they want to do. Be it a business executive, a policeman, a parent, a soldier, a mechanic, a janitor, a surgeon. There will always be things that make us nervous and things that are unpleasant that we simply have to get through and become comfortable doing. You can talk yourself down and get off that endless track of worry such as getting lost or being alone. You can find your way around to new places and you can do it alone. These two things will become very normal to you. Trust in that and talk yourself down off the worry treadmill that leads to nowhere.

 

[user 423]

In other words..."Just do it".

 

[boutdone]

In other words..."Just do it".

5 Stars for the post maki2!!!

 

[Gypsy108]

Great post Maki  :heart: Thank you !
I was a different person when i was younger.  I didn't know what fear was.  
I do use Google Maps     I think my problem is PTSD .   Right now i am hunkering down for the winter....i've been through a lot, and i just need some peace in my life for a while, before i do anything else.....i think that's what my self sabotage thinking is trying to do....protect me...i don't need any adventure now in my life....i need peace .....
I'm NORMALLY very self-reliant and independent.  As much as i think about all the problems i could encounter, i also think about how great it will be to finally see the stars at night, and smell the forest, and sit in front of a crackling camp fire....and those sunsets....O...M...G...i really do have some good vibes about the future......

 

[Gypsy108]

In other words..."Just do it".

If i just "did it" now...without planning anything or preparing...i would be setting myself up for failure ....i think all my self sabotage thinking knows i am not ready now....when the coast is clear and i am more prepared, the self-sabotage will be replaced with self confidence .

 

[Gypsy108]

The only way to find like minded people to travel with is to get out there and start. 

You will meet people you like, and those you don’t.

It may be helpful for you to spread your independent wings a bit, before you jump, so that you can feel more confident in being alone and managing things by yourself.

It may take you awhile to find your people, and confidence comes from doing.

Yes....all that you say is true...i'm going to get my rear in gear as soon as i can....right now i'm waiting to see what my finances will be like in a few months, so i can get a van & supplies...then i will drive out into the sunset on my maiden voyage to a RTR    (When i get to that point i will be very excited and happy and nothing will stop me )

 

[ckelly78z]

The only time I get scared of being lost is when I have a destination in mind, and a time frame to keep. Eliminate these two things, and enjoy the journey...after all, you are a "Gypsy" !

 

[WanderingRose]

Sounds like a plan, Gypsy, and wishing you all the best in your new chapter of life.

 

[Gypsy108]

The only time I get scared of being lost is when I have a destination in mind, and a time frame to keep. Eliminate these two things, and enjoy the journey...after all, you are a "Gypsy" !

haha....so true.....sometimes i forget my destination, and i have no idea where i am....
since a kid i had a thing for gypsies...i don't know why...it just sounded so cool to be a gypsy to me....my mother was actually kidnapped by gypsies when she was a young girl....she ran away from home and saw a "Palms Read" sign on a store front window....walked in...and because my mother was very beautiful and knew how to tell fortunes already , the gypsy lady tried to convince her to stay with them & wanted my mother to marry her son....but my mother had other plans for her life....she wanted to go to Hollywood & be a movie star....and didn't like how these gypsies lived, as they were poor....so after a few weeks living with them she begged the gypsy lady to let her go.......................anyways....as far  as my name being "Gypsy" ....I'm one of those Gypsies that have been stuck in a concentration camp....the Matrix....and when i escape, i will become the Gypsy in me