In September 2015, in a suburb of Oslo, I met a Computer Science student from Pakistan. He called himself Mr. Happiness.
During the three days we spent together, I realised that I was living in a cage built by my own hands. I was working to pay rent, so that I could go back to work. Like a good hamster, I was running on my own little wheel without realising that the only thing that kept the cage locked was my own ability to make excuses.
At the end of the three days Mr. Happiness made me an offer I shouldn’t have refused (click here for the full story), but I did.
I had to say “no” in order to go back to a job that had long since stopped putting a smile on my face. “We all have a mortgage to pay” is the usual excuse. I was hiding behind the comfort of the norm, pretending I didn’t have a choice.
On my flight back to London I realised my life needed to change.
Now I travel the world to document the life of people that live differently from the way we have been taught in the western world, to prove that happiness does not come from a stable job, a mortgage, a car or all those things we buy and never use. I try to travel in the greenest possible way: I cycle, hike, or sail. I use barter rather than money, I work in exchange for a place to stay, food or means of transportation. I meet wonderful people and discover as much about the world as I do about myself.
I have no doubts that if I want the world to become a better place, I need, first of all, to become a better human being.
This website will collect the chronicles of my journey towards a more fulfilling and adventurous life and the stories of the inspiring people I meet on the way.
Either you’re happy with very little, free of all that extra luggage, because you have happiness inside, or you don’t get anywhere!
