Living an untethered life

What does it really mean to be free?

Hello, I’m Molly, a full time creative based in the Scottish Highlands. Subscribers can enjoy weekly posts around the themes of slow living, with members getting access to ALL my work, including video tea times, slow letters and seasonal book reviews to name a few!

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When I was a child, I couldn’t wait to grow up.

As much as I loved living with my family, and I was privileged to spend much of my upbringing in beautiful rural settings, I couldn’t help fantasising about a life where I could call all the shots.

I wanted to be able to go anywhere. Be anything. Delighting at the thought that the world was just one big adventure waiting to happen.

I didn’t care about making a lot of money, so I could buy a big house or go on glamorous holidays. My motivations came from a deeper place. I wanted to love. To explore. To give back and fight for those that weren’t being heard.

And I’ve realised, over the years, that the only way I can do any of this, is if I am free.

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When I was musing over this post, it was the word untethered that came back again and again.

Cambridge dictionary defines this as -

UNTETHERED - not physically connected or fastened to something OR not staying or forced to stay in one particular place.

When you reflect on my upbringing, it’s perhaps not surprising that I gravitate to this word. We were a family that moved often, with my parents making bold, novel choices, like moving to a Scottish island, giving up high-paying jobs to start their own business and making the decision to home educate myself and my three younger brothers.

I was used to change. But this didn’t always mean it was easy. As someone who has always felt deeply, it broke my heart to say goodbye to each and every home, whilst still being excited by the concept of a fresh start. I recognised that sometimes you had to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, or the boundaries that society dictates to us, to truly get the most out of this wonderful thing we call life.

Having said all that, for a while there, I did live a more conformative life. I went to university and, finally, after much unpaid volunteering, managed to secure a long-term contract as a wildlife conservationist. This led to me buying my first car and moving into my own rented two-bed house on a modern estate, a stone’s throw from the centre of Inverness.

It lasted less than a year.

I couldn’t accept that this was to be my life. A life where all my money went on rent and bills, with just enough left over to buy supermarket-branded food. Although I was still passionate about the cause I was working in, as someone who had create their own schedule from a young age, I never settled in the concept of set working hours, especially when I’d always get everything that was required done in far less time.

So, I packed up my belongings and left my comfortable modern house, driving 15 minutes east of the city, to arrive at a run-down static caravan, nestled within a family farm, that would be my home for the next two years.

This was a pivotal step for me as it gave me the financial breathing space I needed to fund the build of our Tiny Home. The caravan is where I started writing and, 5 years on, I’m now sat in said Tiny Home, writing to you on a Monday morning, feeling fully content that this is exactly where I’m meant to be.

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Freedom is something that comes up again and again in surveys asking people what they really want from life. Having control over our lives and how we spend our time sounds appealing in theory, but it’s much harder to find in practise.

Kathy Caprino, a senior writer at Forbes Publication, encapsulates this perfectly when she says -

We want to “feel” free, yet are scared to muster the courage to do what’s necessary to “become” free.

She goes onto explain that freedom ‘requires boldness and courage to make yourself your own highest authority on life and work, and that’s no easy thing today.’

I agree that it’s not easy. But if my story goes to show anything, it’s that freedom, for the most of us, is possible.

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I never want to romanticise my life and living this way does have its challenges. Being fully self-employed as a creative means my income is far less secure. Although I love our home, it can be harder living, especially in the winter when our water freezes and we are in a constant battle to keep out the damp.

It wouldn’t be the life for everyone. I’ve witnessed this first-hand, with some of my closest friends deciding on a more conventional path, with a mortgage and children, and are thriving for it.

But, if anything, as the months and years go past, I find myself snipping more and more tethers.

I’ve given up on strict routines and, instead, embrace mindful rituals. I rarely make commitments that have external deadlines and try not to plan too far into the future. Although I share part of my life for work, I spend less and less time online than ever before, meaning that much of my life goes undocumented, where I’m able to live just for me.

Sometimes it’s the small things, the tiny snips, that can really start to change your life. And, crucially, these are the things that you can start today.

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Hello fellow kindred spirits. If you’re enjoying this post then you can now support my work by buying me a coffee, which means I can keep these Monday posts free to read. I’m so grateful for all your support.

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I feel exceptionally privileged for the life I have and grateful to the younger me who was brave enough to make those hard choices and many sacrifices, knowing that, somewhere down the line, it would be worth it.

I’m living my adventure, and I know that wayward child who loved to daydream would be so proud.

Until next time,

Molly xx

More from my non-conventional life

How I avoid burnout as a sensitive person

What frugal living ACTUALLY looks like

How I’ve built my dream life