Why I decided to live in a tribe again
WHAT!? In a tribe? In the jungle? Haha, no not exactly, or lets say not necessarily...
I was 22, a usual college kid, ambitious but lazy and unsure about EVERYTHING. Like all the rebellious millennials out there, I did not want to settle for anything else then my own big adventure. This is how I found myself hiking through the jungle of south east asia, thinking about life.
Ok, that sounds special - eventually, I was just a backpacker trying to escape reality. But what differentiated me was the way I was questioning things.
One day, back in University, a professor said something like:
“There is no right or wrong and everyone is simply living his own philosophies.”
… “O.K.? Aaand… what should I choose for myself then?”
I remember this moment clearly, when he took a blink, looked at me and simply answered: “You can’t choose. Find out.”
So here I stood,
right in the biggest playground to question what I had learned and to find meaning in the universe. Hundreds of weird, controversial and interesting discussions later, I was approaching a random burmese guy sitting next to me in a bar…
“Hey dude! Isn’t it ridiculous, that western people go sunbathing to get tanned and eastern people hide under umbrellas and even use harmful whitening chemicals to get as white as Micheal Jackson?”
I would have never expected what would come next… but this guy grinned at me and somehow gave me the answer I was waiting for, since University:
There is a popular tale in our culture about a prince who was searching for meaning just like you. It starts with a king, that was going to have a son. He had ambitious plans and wanted to provide his son with the perfect life. Therefore he built him a huge palace, where he kept his son separated from all the misery and suffering of the outside world. Despite the luxury, the prince was unhappy with what he got and still had infinite reasons to complain. One day his curiosity took over and he snuck out of the palace. For the first time in his life, he saw suffering, poverty and even people dying. Blaming his father and the riches for making him feel so miserable about it, he decided to run away and experience the intensity of the “real” life. Years passed and thrown around by life he was even more frustrated. In his frustration, he decided to sit under a tree and think about life. He would not leave before the grand idea he was really seeking for would come up. According to the legend he sat there for 49 days. What he realised was, that life itself is a form of suffering and everyone has his own perspective to complain about. The rich suffer because of their riches and the poor suffer because of their poverty. The “white” suffer because they want to get tanned and the “brown” suffer because they want to get white.
This evening i felt like I had to process as much as the prince had to process after he saw the poverty. I stepped back and thought…
What is the beginning?
The least complex entanglement to understand?
This evening, I realised what it meant to live in tribes. All our desires and motivations were met in their most abstract form. In tribes we had true belonging, support and security. Everyone was significant and found his individual structure.
Ok, we were most likely dying even before we grow hairs in certain parts of our body, but socially and according to our basic needs a tribe seemed to be perfect. Assessing the past, the now and the future, I created three notes, that I still carry with me:
- What is different today?
The world is more complex and relations became shallow.
We are still striving for the same things.
Possibilities are infinite (is this good or bad?) - Life should be easy (just 5 core needs)
Structure (Certainty, Safety etc.)
Flexibility (Adventure, Surprises, Uncertainty…)
Belonging (Support, Exchange, Love)
Significance (Uniqueness, feeling needed)
Growth (Learning, Expanding, Improving) - Todo:
How could a modern tribe look like?
Define what you want.
Build it!
Is it possible?
Mh, lets look at existing “solutions”. There are people living a communal life… but no… that is definitely not what I want! While most of our grandfather’s life had been happening in a radius of less then a hundred kilometres, our radius is exceeding that by over 7000%! Some people even work from different places every day and I want that freedom as well!
I love innovation, technology and development.
I want to keep my independence and flexibility.
I want to exchange with more then just a few people.
This & a tribe… controversial, he!? Let me drop my most favourite quote:
What could be a solution, combining technological advancement, my need for freedom and the idea of having a community that still somehow resembles a tribe… oh and is not virtual!
Doesn’t sound to difficult, does it? :-D
It is possible!
After finding my new mission, I sat together with a friend, discussing digital nomadism. Since technology is enabling location independent lifestyles, more and more people grab there laptop and start working from wherever they want. It seems like they are living the dream, working from Bali, Berlin and Bangalore. Unfortunately, they face serious struggles to find structure and belonging. You know where I am going -> that is exactly what a modern tribe would provide.
Here we go! We came up with the idea of building a community that comes together in physical spaces around the globe. Digital nomads, freelancers, creatives and everyone else who can work from his laptop should have a place that feels like home. Spaces where they can nourish their passion and work on their dreams.
Today I tell you, that we are building a global infrastructure of spaces in all the mayor cities and frequented places around the globe, for all the creative minds and geniuses out there, just like you! We are focusing on flexibility, individuality and human connection and call it h·spaces - your global cocreation infrastructure. Wherever you go, there will be an h·space for you, what do you think?
Let us figure out how to make it a shared success! We engage everyone to get involved! Reach out to us and spread the idea!
Let’s live in tribes again and cocreate the future!
Cheers,
Tim
PS: Btw, the prince later got some popularity and is known as buddha ;-)
Read part 2, the solution: http://bit.ly/whatish/
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Thank you! ❤
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We are going to start a crowdfunding campaign soon!
If you are waiting for it like I do, then leave me your mail and I am going to notify you:
Join the adventure
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I am Tim Laufkötter, cofounder of h·spaces and I am going create the work culture, where everyone feels home!
If you are a writer or think about living location independently, maybe our scholarship is something for you: Apply Now!
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Don’t forget to leave me a clap, or maybe two haha :-D
Thank you! ❤
