The Mindful Word

Travel-living is neither a typical way to travel nor a typical way to live. It is a state of flexible mind neither constrained by the 9 to 5 hustle nor bound by the desire for stuff. It is the gypsy inside us asking us not to attach to anything, knowing that all is impermanent.

Travel-living is about finding flexible work options as a way of freeing up time to explore what really matters in life. That may or may not involve travel. “Living” is stressed because typical travelling can be damaging to the environment and doesn’t offer the depth that comes from settling into a place. Living in one place for extended periods of time offers a much deeper cultural experience and opens up opportunities to contribute to the places visited. Otherwise, more can be experienced in life just by freeing up time and living right at home—a view also advocated by travel-living.

These pages will help you find and maintain flexible work; understand the benefits of simple living; discover locations suitable for you to live in; learn about the challenges and benefits of living abroad; understand the ethics of volunteering; and inspire you to do it!

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telework, {FEATURES} February 17, 2012

IS TELECOMMUTING FOR YOU? Pros and cons of telework [infographic]

Is telecommuting for you? Advantages and disadvantages of telework

Despite telecommuting’s promise of big cost savings and increased productivity, most businesses aren’t ready to let employees work at home yet. Experts once…

mindful tourism, {FEATURES} January 31, 2012

GLOBAL FREELOADERS: Much more than just free accommodation

Global Freeloading - Travel the world and live for free

Freeloader. Sounds bad, doesn’t it? Well, guess what? It’s a little piece of wonderful (actually a BIG piece) for all travellers who want to see the world, but don’t…

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transformative travel, {REGULARS} January 23, 2012

THIKSEY MONASTERY: Ladakh offers respite from India’s busyness

Fifty monks sit cross-legged in long rows. Their prayer books, narrow strips of thick paper bound by string, sit open in front of them. They chant the Buddhist sutras…

MINDFUL TOURISM: Travel below the high tide mark leaving no footprints

Why do we visit other countries? Is it to go absorb a different culture, to indulge in new experiences, to breathe in the aroma of different lands, to meet different …

LIVING IN HARMONY: Leh shows what religious tolerance is all about

Two Muslim women in traditional attire walk past a group of Buddhist monks dressed in maroon robes. Stupas, Buddhist religious monuments…

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travel blog September 28, 2011

Whose Streets are they Anyway?

Whose Streets are they Anyway? Leh, India — By day they lay sprawled out asleep in the shade, only getting up every now and then to munch on some trash. By night they spring to life, turning the streets into a high-energy doggie dance party. A constant soundtrack of barking, yelping, and whining plays from [...]

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travel blog August 7, 2011

CHECKMATE: Play the game with mindfulness and equanimity

A stray cow is walking toward me. I cross the street to give it space, careful to avoid stepping on a tail of one of the many sprawled out, potentially rabid, dogs that lay on the other side.

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travel blog July 20, 2011

Present mountain

I yearn to know your many sides
No, you are too vast
Embrace the mystery, I remind myself
It is in not knowing you that I can truly know you
Forget maps, I wish to see you with child’s eyes
Drop the judgment
You are perfect in your many imperfections
You are my greatest teacher…

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travel blog July 19, 2011

Aimless in India

AIMLESS IN INDIA To be or to do, that is the question of The Mindful Word’s new blog “Aimless in India.” The meaning of aimlessness, according to Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, is "that you do not put something in front of you and run after it, because everything is already here, in yourself." “Does [...]

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travel blog July 3, 2011

Acceptance through meditation

While meditating today I started by focusing on whatever my senses picked up in the environment. I tuned into the various sounds of nature without fixating on any of them. After a short while I began to feel my right leg itch, then the other. Ants were crawling up my legs. My initial impulse was to swat them away, but I didn’t because I wanted to continue focusing my awareness.

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travel blog June 26, 2011

The final stretch.

After getting dropped off in downtown Fredericton, thinking the bus station would be downtown (as it is in most cities), I asked the first person I saw if she knew where the bus station was located. A local woman told me about the controversial decision to move the station to the outskirts of the city. [...]

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travel blog November 13, 2010

IRVING OR CHRIST: Religion by the roadside

IRVING OR CHRIST Religion by the roadside Rides came easily today. My first came from a Subaru Outback driven by a younger guy named Duncan. Like many Outback drivers, he’s an avid outdoorsman with canoeing being his favourite pursuit. He told me about the work he’d done taking kids out on canoe trips and all [...]

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travel blog November 12, 2010

CAPE BRETON: The rugged beauty of the Highlands

CAPE BRETON The rugged beauty of the Highlands A familiar truck towing a McDonald’s sign pulled to a stop in front of me. “I saw you back there and didn’t pick you up,” the driver said in a Newfoundlandish accent, referring to my under-the-bridge-in-the-storm attempt at getting a ride earlier in the day. “So I [...]

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travel blog November 9, 2010

The test (part 2)

THE TEST (PART 2) (See Trip of trust for blog introduction) The time was rolling by. I assessed my situation. It was now mid-afternoon, I had three more hours of daylight and about 300 km to go. Being cold and wet, I knew I’d have to get into a warm car or go pitch [...]

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travel blog November 8, 2010

The test (part 1)

THE TEST (PART 1) (See Trip of trust for blog introduction) I left Fredericton early this Monday morning, intent on traveling the 600 kilometres to Cape Breton by nightfall. It’d been an average daily distance on this trip, though I hadn’t taken the low traffic of the Maritimes and the effect of the weather into [...]

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