About
Hi! I’m Chuck Manley and this is my quest for a better sense of understanding in this chaotic word I live in.
I worked as an Emergency Medical Technician for several years in and around Detroit, Michigan. I hated my job and the direction my life was heading in, but I didn’t know how to get out. About a year ago I was so lost and confused that I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I was sick of getting up to work a job I hated and I was tired of going about the daily grind never feeling like I’m accomplishing anything.
I decided I know longer knew what was going to make me happy, but I knew that the pursuit for the American dream would only destroy me. I thought a life as a homeless man would be better than the life I was living. But that’s not realistic. Nobody strives for owning nothing and living on the streets, right? That’s what social conditioning had me believe.
I found the website digihitch and started to learn that there were plenty of people out there who had this same ambition as me. It gave me insight and help into getting started. Every day I read and read and read. I followed people stories and woke up everyday wondering if it were really that simple. Just leave?
I worked the Rothbury Music Festival and everything came together there. I met so many amazing people who were doing things that I didn’t think was possible. I kept asking how they did it and they kept telling me to just let go and it’ll happen.
So I did just that. I let go of everything that I felt was holding me back from true happiness. I quit my job, cut people from my life, and spent more time dancing barefoot at the park than anything else.
I found couchsurfing.org through a post on digihitch and it really helped things come together. I’ve met people from all over the world. They have showed me that travel is possible and it’s not that far out of reach for me. Not only that, it provided a social network of people that I needed to inspire me to hit the road. And a free place to sleep to boot!
I went to Portland, OR to visit a friend of mine and had the most amazing experience ever. I spent 2 days homeless on the streets with the goal of spending no money. I was well fed, surrounded by friends, and free from any obligation. But that was just a vacation. I knew at some point I had to go home. I promised myself that the next time I left I would have nothing to return to.
1 year later, on June 1st 2009, I did just that. I walked out of my apartment and locked the door behind me never to return again. I gave away/donated/sold/and trashed everything I owned. All those material possessions that I spent so long accumulating were doing nothing but keeping me locked down. I only needed a house to hold all those ‘things.’
Things don’t make me happy and I can’t honestly believe they bring true happiness to anyone. I’ll promise to never own a big screen TV if it means I can experience life for my own instead of living it through that box. I’ll drive my car off a cliff to sit and watch it burn in the sunset. I’ll be homeless because it means I’m always home.
Everything we believe needs to be questioned. Everything that holds up after constant scrutiny is worth believing. The life I was living couldn’t hold up to the what if’s I constantly asked myself about the possibilities of what was out there. Understanding comes from these questions.
I was told that I was supposed to get a good job at a young age so I could retire early and enjoy my life comfortably. Fuck retirement. I’m retired now. Maybe one day my mind will change. I’ll tell myself I need health insurance and a 401k. If that happens, I’ll carry this experience with me until the day I die and I’ll never have to ask myself what if.
I’ve had a simple goal in life to die with a smile on my face. If I wasn’t here right now, there’s no way that could happen.
I’m living my dream. In the process I hope to inspire those I meet along the way. Live now while you can. Walk lightly, smile sincerely, and go happy.