#12 The Fellowship: Airstream Living

Hello Hello!

Welcome back to The Fellowship! What a wonderful sunny day it is here in Austin!

I love seeing the evolution of these newsletter sections!

A quick thought before we get into it:

Let’s go. Andiamo!

Airstream Living:

For the past year, I’ve been living in an Airstream trailer.

How in the world did I get here?

It was mid-June of last year. I was two weeks away from moving to Austin, Texas. One-way flight booked for July 2nd. Goodbyes in order. Bags packed.

But there was one small problem...

I had no place to live!

Just a month earlier, I’d graduated college. I decided I’d spend the month of June at home, then be gone by July.

With T-13 days, I sat down and wrote out my ideal living situation:

• Great location, central to everything

• 3-month personal terms (no lease, max flexibility)

• A place of my own

• Fully furnished

• Kitchen to cook in

• Price: $2,500 total for 3 months (all utilities included)

I reached out to every apartment company I could find.

Some matched the location. Few matched the price. None matched the terms. I wasn’t going to compromise on my lease terms.

The apartments weren’t working.

Then I thought: Where are flexible lease terms the norm?

Airbnb.

I got to work. Searched every listing with availability for the next three months.

I messaged 22 different hosts:

I got four responses, but they were less than hopeful, “Good luck, you’ll never find something for that price in that location.”

Discouraging. But I only needed one yes.

Then on July 19th, I got it.

YES!

It was central. By the river. One bed. Full kitchen. Flexible terms.

But then I looked at the photos more closely. Wait... is that a trailer?

I had sent the DM messages so fast I hadn’t even noticed. It was a 2015 Bambi Airstream trailer.

“No way I’m living in a trailer,” I thought.

That night, still without a place to live, my parents asked how the search was going. I sighed, feeling the impending pressure of leaving in 13 days. I told them I got one yes, then showed them the listing.

My mom started laughing.

“Mom, I’m being serious. I have nowhere to live!”

She smiled and said, “What do you mean? That Airstream is perfect for you. You’d totally live there!”

Wait, what? Would I?

I thought back to my travels just a year ago. The places I stayed. The freedom of it all.

And suddenly, I knew: This was exactly what I needed.

I messaged the host that night.

I’m in.

It’s been almost a year. That Airstream has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.

Unintended gifts of trailer life:

• Everything I own fits in two duffels

• The fewer things I have, the freer I feel

• The power of living below my means

• And it takes two steps to go from bed to kitchen to dining table. Efficient living.

Where might life be inviting you to say yes, even if it looks different than you imagined?

(Taken this morning. I’ve still got the Christmas wreath hanging.)

Success

Friday night. The movie was starting.

Danny and I were the only twenty-somethings in the theater. We were surrounded by kids and their parents. I hadn’t been to a movie theater in a long time. Popcorn in hand, seat reclined, ready to go.

But something felt off. Why were we the only ones our age here?

The night before, I’d seen a post about a new film premiering in theaters:

“The King of Kings. The greatest story ever told”

I watched the three minute trailer and felt a strong intuitive pull to see it. I bought two tickets. Texted Danny. We were in.

The movie started at 7pm. I arrived at 7:10pm.

Right on time (shoutout to my dad, who taught me that movie previews = a 15-minute grace period before the actual movie starts).

The big screen was on and the lights were dimmed. At 7:15pm the movie began. And it quickly became clear:

This was a children’s film.

It told the beautiful story of Jesus, but clearly meant for a younger audience. Danny and I were out of our element one could say.

At first, I was bummed. I’d expected to be moved by the experience. I’d followed an intuitive feeling to go to this movie and assumed that meant something transformative would follow.

But as I walked out of the theater, surrounded by little kids and their parents, I realized something:

My definition of “success” was a bit out of whack.

I thought an aligned decision would create a profound result. But really the moment I walked into the movie theater, I was successful.

Success was listening and trusting my intuition and then acting on it. Regardless of the outcome. Even if it led to a children’s movie.

That’s the practice. Success is continuing to make decisions that feel true. Not because it’s predicated on having a breakthrough, but becuase it’s aligned.

The decision to act in alignment itself is enough.

Where in your life can you follow a feeling without needing it to ‘work out’?

A Topic I’m Exploring

It was late. The kind of night where time stretches and conversations go on forever.

A cool breeze rolled in. The stars were bright. My friend and I were talking about God and the universe.

Then he said something that stopped me: “All of us are already being held by the system.”

I paused. But what does that mean?

He described the universe and God, as “the system.”

The system is moving behind the scenes, operating at all times. It keeps the world spinning and allows us to get out of bed each morning without needing to check if the sun is still shining.

For example, when a company has a great system, everything flows. People know their roles, things get done, and the company keeps existing.

But if a company has a bad system, people can’t do their jobs well and things don’t get done. Things start to fall apart.

Same thing with this world and our existence. Our existence is a system. And it’s a functioning system! If the system didn’t work, we wouldn’t exist.

And despite all the things we can point to about why the system isn’t currently working, somehow... it still does. If you are reading this, it’s working!

So, how does the system still function with all the messiness, the pain, and the beauty?

I believe it’s because the system was built to hold all the things. Good and bad. Just like a person can hold space for someone else when they are having a hard time, so too can the system for all of life.

It operates on unconditional love.

If the system were conditional, our existence would be transactional. You’d have to sign a form that says you need to do this and this in order to exist in the world and if you mess up then you can no longer exist.

But that’s not how it works. The sun rises for everyone, every single day, no matter what they’ve done. It holds it all. (More on unconditional love here).

First reaction: I could run through a brick wall. If the system holds me no matter what, then I can fail, fall, take risks, and still be loved.

Second reaction: But at the same time that awareness scared me. It meant that all the fears I had about putting myself out there or trying something new, or failing, no longer had solid ground to stand on because the system held me.

It meant that my old excuses — fear of failure and fear of being seen — didn’t hold the same weight if I so chose to believe the system would hold me.

And now, having the awareness that I am held, I am exploring a new kind of freedom. I could give it my all in this life and still be safe.

This is a new concept for me but it’s reshaping how I move through life. I’ll keep exploring it and report back.

If you knew you were held no matter what, what would you try?

Thanks for tuning in to this edition of The Fellowship. If this resonated with you and you thought of someone who might enjoy it too, I’d love for you to share it with them and continue spreading this ripple effect of goodness to others.

Thing I’m excited about: Starting a men’s group here in Austin. Can’t wait to see what comes of it.

Quote I liked from the movie: “The person that has never sinned can throw the first stone.” Who am I to judge someone else.

You can learn more about me here and follow along on X here.

Peace and Love,

Ben