What vagabonding is not.

Vagabonding is not to be confused with a mere vacation, where the only goal is escape. - Rolf Potts

Likewise, vagabonding is not merely an extended or long-term vacation. It's not a series of vacations strewn together so as to avoid as much "work" and "responsibility" as possible. Vagabonding is in no way an escape or a distraction. If it were any of these things it would be an unhealthy, secondary pursuit drawing one away from the necessary and important things of life that should really hold one's attention and focus. This is why some people take a negative view of vagabonding and the vagabonding lifestyle. Some view others they hardly know with contempt for missing the ball and giving themselves completely to a life of "vacation" and "escape". Others view the one's they love with sadness and fear as they perceive them to be throwing away the important things of life to a point of no return. While these reactions can sometimes stem from a difference in philosophical viewpoint they can also result from one seeing vagabonding for what it is not rather than what it is.

The businessman father who hasn't tapped into the "Truth" and importance of religion thinks his son who is called to the ministry is making a foolish decision and is throwing away the blessings of life to devote himself to a false reality of sanctity and religious necessity. Similarly, the working father who sees a 40 hour a week job, a wife and kids, and a nuclear existence of material comforts and blessings as a "Truth" and faith in and of itself thinks his son who is called to a life of vagabonding is making a foolish decision and is throwing away the blessings of "security" and "stability" to devote himself to the frivolous and selfish pursuit of "constant vacation".

To truly understand the vagabonding lifestyle one must first stop "seeing" vagabonding for what it is not. This calls for understanding it for what it is.

True vagabonding is an art and a calling just like true ministry is an art and a calling. God calls individuals to be preachers because a full devotion allows one a deeper understanding that can be shared with the others who have received separate and no less important callings elsewhere. God calls individuals to be vagabonders because a full devotion to travel allows one a deeper understanding of the world and its inhabitants that can then be shared with others who have received a separate and no less important calling that doesn't allow for such intensive and extended travel. Just as the ministry is for a handful, vagabonding is for a handful as well. This doesn't mean that those who haven't been "called" to the ministry should cease from pursuing God on their own, just as those who haven't been "called" to vagabonding shouldn't cease from pursuing travel as they can. But it helps to realize that both these "callings" are meant for a handful and that no one is claiming that they are higher than other callings or that everyone should devote themselves to them. On the contrary not everyone should be vagabonders.

Once one sees vagabonding for what it is, differences of opinion towards it become philosophical as opposed to prejudiced misconceptions. It becomes a discussion of what is truly important in life; something that each man must answer for himself. As creatures geared towards "survival" who find safety in numbers and within the unit, we tend to view those who step outside the flow as reckless and self-destructive. Rarely do we recognize that evolution and growth as a species comes from healthy change within the foundation of what's already working. So while society continues to function on the stability that's gotten us to where we are, let us not crush the individuals stepping outside the mechanism allowing for the evolution of the species.

As a vagabonder, I encourage those who don't fully understand the calling and the lifestyle to take a first step and stop seeing vagabonding for what it is not. Should our philosophical differences remain at that point, so be it.

Vagabonding is -- at its best -- a rediscovery of reality itself. - Rolf Potts