Alter-Nomad: The Case for Stability

Alexandra David-Néel is the perfect representation of a nomadic ideal. As a Belgium-French writer and explorer, David-Néel displayed through the example of her life a real ethic of travel. Her erudition and thirst for otherness allowed her to transcend conditions: she became the first western woman to enter the Tibetan city of Lhasa, forbidden to foreigners at the time, as she described it herself in her book My Journey to Lhasa. Even a great explorer like Alexandra David-Néel alternated between long periods of travels and long periods of sedentism. This is what made her a true nomad from a historical definition. Historical nomads never travel. They move around, following a cycle. Her cycle was not seasonal. It was a cycle of creation. Writing at home. Gathering materials during her travels. It’s in her house she nicknamed Fortress of Meditation, that she wrote the books that made her famous.

David-Néel didn’t travel out of boredom. It was an impulse she displayed at a young age. Later, traveling became an obligation. She traveled to make a living as a singer. She traveled to continue her intellectual work and further her own education. More importantly, she traveled to meet her fate. And this is what separates nomads from tourists: purpose. She would later inspire Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Alan Watts, among others.

I wrote extensively on the shortcomings of sedentism. Alter-nomadism is no anarchism, a supporter of an idea of a society without a state. It isn’t a return to a state of nature, it is about taking the best of sedentism. Sedentism allowed stability. Stability is needed to think in the long term, to generate growth and progress. Our mastery of nature enabled food security. The comfort brought by sedentism empowered humankind to survive and thrive. It created institutions fostering humanism: mass education, healthcare, security… The principle of dynamic rooting[@maffesoli] by Michel Maffesoli states that humans, just as they admit a wandering drive, need the stability brought by sedentism. Modern nomads are no different from other human beings: they are bipolar animals. A digital nomad is half-sedentary and half-nomad. Historical nomadism is alternating between moving and resting phases. As sedentaries, modern nomads must admit the right for every individual to move, a free flow of human beings. While traveling, they must respect the different lifestyles of their hosts, while living simply without accumulating more than it is needed (sustainable relationship with consumption). Alter-nomadism wishes to foster diversity while keeping access to sedentary services. Rescue must become a duty of the state rather than a mercantile option.

It’s only when you come back home you understand how uncomfortable travel is. Voyage fatigue is real. For a digital nomad, mental stability is of utter importance and is usually the result of a stable environment. If you are a healthy human being who needs stability and a close circle of friends at reach, don’t lose your sanity going around the world. It is not important. What is important is how you feel and how you can do your best work. Your best work will impact others in a positive way, and that’s what really matters: a meaningful life. As Spinoza proposes: “the wise, to enhance his power, will live in society, in harmony and reason”. As a digital nomad, you regularly move from place to place. You need to implement a good practice of stability to stay sane and healthy.

Routine is the root of stability. It can seem counter-intuitive to seek routine when you travel the world, but you need a little bit of routine to properly function in life. The word “routine” originates from French, meaning literally “the small road”, the one you take “out of habit”. A good routine always serves a personal purpose. It is an enabler that helps you reach your own priorities in life. It gives you a structure to perform in the best mental conditions, a psychological lifeline that keeps you afloat throughout the toughest times and the storming feelings. Routine offers the stability needed to get things done. As a traveler, it is a paradox but a routine is meant to change. I would add, a routine is meant to include the entropy of everyday life. Keep the micro-habits that proved to work for you, but stay open-minded for the exciting opportunities travel brings. I found out I need a work routine to stay productive. I usually work from my Airbnb when I need to perform deep work. All I desire in a good Airbnb is a kitchen, a workstation, a laundry, and a fast Wi-fi. I prefer paying for a slightly more expensive rent than to spend money on coffee shops, coworking space memberships or commutes. When I lived in Penang, I used to wake up around 11:00 without an alarm clock. My capsule bed was warm. The air conditioner runs all night long, and if you are not careful, you can catch a cold. Still groggy, I would quickly put on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts to go downstairs with my bag. I would drink some cold water, head to the shower, and prep myself. Umbrella in hand, I hurry to get some street food at my favorite coffee shop, Kedai Kopi Seng Thor on Carnarvon street. Dried Wan Tan Mee (dumplings noodles) or Koay Teow Th’ng (fish soup). The waiter already knows my drink of choice — ice lemon tea (Teh O’ Ais). Lunch is served soon after, and I am done by 13:00. As I am walking toward the coworking space I can hear the call of the Muezzin. It is Zuhr prayer time, and it marks the start of my workday. As I reach Little India the call to prayer is covered by Bollywood Hindi songs blasted as loud as possible. I enter @CAT Penang and get in the zone. I write for an hour. Then I read some content and take two or three tasks from the public Trello to process them. My mandatory tasks for the day are officially done by 16:00. After that, I perform a body scan to see how I feel and figure out what I want to do for the rest of the day. Sometimes I want to learn new things so I read books, watch movies, listen to podcasts or work on something new. Sometimes I feel like working more on my business. If I feel mentally exhausted, I just go out, have some cider cans, and meet random people in bars. One thing I enjoyed doing was to take my notebook, go to the Junk Bar near Love Lane, order a beer, and brainstorm on some new articles or product ideas. At some point, I go back to my hotel. By 2 or 3 AM I fall asleep. I dedicate my current life to my craft, so I naturally developed a routine. A routine is tied to its environment. Yet, some parts of it do not change. I call those parts “micro-habits”. They have the particularity of being location-independent so that I can always get work done no matter what.