Sometimes it’s good to be a “hotel princess”—as one of my friends put it—and sometimes it’s good to be a “tent bum.”
Being a “hotel princess” is about choosing a situation where zero choices will need to be made about how your basic living needs are going to be met. It’s about choosing running water, air conditioned rooms, Wi-Fi access, room service, and soft beds. It’s about choosing comfort. And there is certainly a time and a place for this.
Being a “tent bum” is about choosing a situation where all choices will need to be made about how your basic living needs are going to be met. It’s about flexing your survival skill muscles and challenging yourself to figure out how you’re going to stay hydrated/clean, warm/cool, connected if/when needed, functional/fed, and where/how you’re going to set up a shelter for rest/recovery. It’s about intentionally choosing discomfort. Something many people in the modern world don’t make a time or space for in the least.
Even camping in the modern age looks less and less like the latter and is looking more and more like the former—there’s RVs, remote AirBnBs, and glamping setups galore.
And I get it—travel can be stressful enough. Especially travel to remote parts of the world where there are so many unknowns as is.
…But if you want an inner work challenge? An opportunity to see—and possibly grow—what you’re made of?
Try being a “tent bum” for a few days in the woods.
It’ll most likely elicit more inward reflection and growth than being a “hotel princess” ever would.