Living A simple green Life: FREEDOM

Welcome

Welcome to my wee blog.My name is Andy ( The Dafthermit ) . For the last 20 odd years i have ben trying to get back to a simpler way of life and finally in my old bus up here in the Scottish mountains i am finally getting there. My time now is spent taking pictures of the highlands ,making films to show the world the beauty all around and writing something that has surprised me having had a few of my stories published , Having picked up a camera and laptop in 2008 i have really enjoyeed the journey the camera has taken me on again having had a couple of pictures in national magazines, last year three of ,my films where shown at the Loch Ness film festival. anyway i hope you enjoy your visit to my wee blog

love and light

Andy

Tuesday, 29 March 2011

FREEDOM

FREEDOM
……………….
Freedom ,Freedom to me is on so many levels but i reckon the four below are a good point to start this journey of discovery..
Physical
Emotional
Spiritual
Financial
To reach a state of harmony within our short life span here on Earth is surely all our goals ,i know it is mine to find and maintain a balance of the true journey not some man made one ,imposed on us .
Physical
………………..
This is one ,most of us in the west are able to achieve :
On the whole we are able to walk about and not be picked up by snatch squads etc ,of course i know that our governments step over the mark many times but on the whole we are free on the physical level we are not sat in some jail ,rotting as so many people are all across the planet..
yes i realise some people are and we must fight for them to be set free.
I say this as a traveller that has been imprisoned simply for being a traveller on several occasions .and took may beatings from the police ,i still believe though compared to a lot of countries around the world on the whole we are physically free ..
On another level even our own bodies and minds can and does imprison us .if we allow it to happen..
Emotional freedom
This to me is one of the hardest things to achieve , but myself and Mel chose to lead our lives away from people
To many times our hand of friendship has gone out only to be bitten ,we have been left homeless and penniless simply for trying to help someone ,well sorry .now we have control and where possible will not allow this happen again…
To deal with people that think they can use us to release their anger, jealousy or whatever pent up emotion onto us simply WILL not happen again.
So i guess for the first time we are both emotionally free at last ..
Spiritual Freedom
…………………………………
Like a lot of people i have often asked questions like :
What is it all about ?
How can this be ? etc etc
To me as a Dafthermit i am so happy that i have now found so many answers to MY questions
The first one and to the most important is not to look to man or their churches for the answers
Because you will only be told the bull shit they want you to know so they can keep filling there church coffers with even more money..
The answers to so many of our questions are all around. if only we would take the time to look
To me sitting looking at a wee flower fills my heart with joy and hope ..

Like the picture i was able to capture above
the sheer beauty of the flower with the amazing colours and shapes the variety of life nestled on it
the complete perfection of a simply fly with wings so delicate you are able to see right through them
the gold’s the yellows the whites nature has so many answers just look…
So at the age of 49
I am able to say i have reached spiritual freedom
my spirit is free and long may it be
and finally
Financial Freedom
…………………………………….
This to me is the simplest and i wish the rest were as easy to achieve
We are born on the stunning planet a globe filled with awe and majesty
but from our very first breathe we are told and shown absolute crap…..
We are conditioned to believe we must get a job then buy a house then save for when we retire
Our own parents that have already been brainwashed into this whole thing
They if you are lucky?
save for a deposit that you as the child will one day be able to put down on a 4 bed roomed 2 reception roomed house then spend the next 30 40 years paying ,madness.
We encourage our kids to go to University and study hard then leave with on average a debt of £15.000 To £20.000 . madness
And if you don’t follow this path you are deemed a failure ?????????????????
Well i’m sorry but at the age of 50 both myself and Mel owe nothing to no one we have no debt and are thus FREE in my daft little world ???
To me to be able to achieve 1 ,2 ,3 or all 4 things is my goal..
But to knock someone that has achieved one or more of these goals is both foolish and selfish
in my world
it is they easiest thing in the world to knock or as me and Mel call it the ping syndrome
ping we will do this
ping we will do that
ping ping ping
enough is enough ;lets stop talking and start doing i say
freedom to all the people of the world
free to love, travel and explore this stunningly beautiful world
don’t let anyone be it a person or a government
stop you going for your goal
love and peace the Dafthermit ….
Freedom can not mean disregarding respect for both the planet or people

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A wee film about us on STVs the HOUR SHOW click on STV logo to see the film

Andy the Daft Hermit lives 45 minutes outside Inverness with his wife Mel in an old bus parked in a layby. This current home of theirs is the longest they have ever stayed in one spot. “I’ve been travelling now 25 years,” said Andy Lowe. “Mel’s been travelling 15. One of the reasons we’ve come and stayed up here is because of Mel’s health. I wanted to bring her to the mountains for fresh air and clean water and just a slower pace of life.” Mel has had breast cancer twice, skin cancer once, and for three years believed she had bone cancer after being wrongly diagnosed. Andy’s belief in the restorative powers of the north made them pack up ‘The Black Bus’ that they live in and cross the border into Scotland. New Highland home for hermit couple Andy and Mel “I think we both believe in trying to get to a more simple way of life,” said Andy, “but it’s strange for us because we are sort of hermits, or we like to live separate, but it’s not being anti-social… it’s just the way we are that allows us to be creative.” Andy first began travelling when he left the army. Fed up with bureaucracy he packed a rucksack and left for France and has been travelling ever since. By investing any money the couple have earned into solar panels and wind generators they now live a self-sustaining existence, without electric bills, and collect rain water “straight from Heaven”. “It’s not easy,” said Mel. “There might be time when there might not be enough facilities around, but you always find a way, you know?” Rather than rejecting technology, Andy blogs about his travels online and collaborates with artists from around the world via his ‘Scratchy Heid Film Studio’, which he runs from a static trailer next to the couple’s bus. He explained his philosophy: “My belief is that if you can go through life and you drop dead and you’ve got a balance there that slightly outweighs the good than the bad, you’ve done alright. “Yesterday, with what Mel’s been through with the cancer and all that, I had a woman on one of my sites there that thanked me for the writing, for the positive things, and to me that’s worth everything. You can keep your millions, we’re not interested. That is what we do.” To check out Andy’s artwork and video projects check out his website. MORE FROM THE NORTH