u/SerenityCravings

Im 44yo and in the past few years I have really embraced solitude in nature far more than I ever thought I would.

One of my favourite things has become embedding myself in nature by myself during sunny days from late autumn to early spring. I get considerable pleasure from feeling the gentle winter sunlight on my skin while drinking a coffee or wine while watching the sunlight glistening meditatively on the water at a beach or laid on a picnic blanket in the grass in a park staring at the lush green leaves rustling in the wind.

I get such an energy recharge from this. And i get such gratitude from staring at bright blue skies especially contrasted against buildings or greenery. I can rest like this for hours whilst alternating between reading a book intermittently and staring at nature.

Im a bit naughty that on days off I do like to drink half a bottle of wine while doing this in parks or at a beach. The buzz amplifies the experience. But I can still enjoy the bliss without that too,.

I cant believe I missed out on this in the past. i always felt I needed to get people to go with me to these places or do something more active or social. But I just get such an enormous buzz from doing this alone and feel really grateful.

Does anyone else do this and get a similar feeling?

What I have been reflecting on is how LeanFIRE is actually a pretty large spectrum.

At 44yo I have reached and well surpassed the LeanFIRE target I had set for myself 10 years ago. But, the thing is this has been impacted not just by inflation but by age. That long ago I was happy with my very frugal lifestyle which involved renting in shared accommodation. And, I still am mostly ok with it. But I am not confident I will be still in 5 to 10 years time. So I am concerned about locking myself into this lifestyle for good.

This got me thinking how there is a type of subset of LeanFIRE grading .

- leanFIRE van living. Able to permanently cover expenses while living in a van/RV. This was never my goal but I think this is the lowest number.

- LeanFIRE renting in shared accommodation. This is where I am now.

- LeanFIRE renting solo. This is where I would be if I can stick around in my horrible job I hate for another year which I am feeling a lot of tension over.

- LeanFIRE owning a small humble home. This would take me at least 2 to 3 years to achieve. Buying even a one bedroom place in an Australian city would destroy my financial assets. But this is the highest level really.