All posts tagged: freedom

Why It’s Been 8 Months Since I’ve Posted

When I started Living Unencumbered in April 2015, I made the tag line: Building a Life with Freedom. I laugh at that a bit now. Freedom is what we had and determined to protect, but as the months passed, what we were missing more than freedom and free time was purpose. It is purpose that we craved, purpose in our desire to contribute to a greater good or affect an exponential number of people. In our first post, we defined Living Unencumbered as eliminating the superfluous things that prevent you from dreaming of what you want to do and doing what you dream. That’s still pretty good actually, but after a year since the blog’s creation, my wiser self would emphasize the need for purpose. Today I define Living Unencumbered as the freedom to pursue your purpose, as opposed to merely reacting to the conditions and circumstances the world gives you. The truest freedom lies in our ability to pursue purposes that bring joy and ultimately, satisfaction. I stopped writing because I lost purpose, or …

Intro to Living Unencumbered

What if your single source of income was cut off today? What if you lost your job or had to move in 24 hours? Think about it. May 12, 2015 BIG NEWS! Today is our one month and three day anniversary of our current employment status: Unemployed. On April 9th, my husband, Adam and I were working at a water services company in North Dakota, and then on that same day, we weren’t. Quick Background: We both finished 4+ years of active duty service in the Navy in October 2014. (Go Navy. Beat Army.) Last November we got married, and in January 2015 we started two new and exciting jobs in the Wild Wild West of North Dakota. We were both eager to make our mark in our first jobs as civilians and in the oil and gas industry, but what we anticipated being a five to seven year saga quickly became a 3 month gig. Harsh Reality: We spent A LOT of our savings on our wedding and then even more on a lovely three-week honeymoon to Paris and London. …