Hey Steemit,

 

^{My mobile massage stand, in Foz do Lizandro, Portugal}

Yesterday I joined this wonderful community, because it really fits my principles. A place where people donate both time (by reading) and money (by upvoting) to those who have a story to tell. I immediately started to write my story, an introduction to the story, and only after someone told me to add the introduceyourself tag, I changed my post. Thing is, that post is an introduction to a story, not to myself and what's alive in me, what my goal is to make a change in this world. So here it is...

For the past few years, I've been traveling without a clear goal. I knew I wanted to start or join a community somewhere, where people can come to live in peace, away from the rat race. Little did I know, there's already many of them, some successful, some quite messy, and none without some sort of drama. I've hitchhiked, camped outside, met the love of my life, lived in a cave on an island, dumpster dived, and met some of the greatest people. The only thing is, it served only myself and it didn't give me the fulfillment I expected it to do.

^{My girlfriend and me at our cave on Tenerife}

This all changed a few months ago, when I visited Thailand. I came there to learn Thai massage, which I did, with the goal to have a skill that I can use anywhere I am, to sustain my travels. I would start in Portugal, and to reduce the change of being sent away by authorities I would do it for a voluntary donation. This turned out to be the seed of an idea that turned into a clear goal.

My first client gave me 40 euros, my second gave me 15. Both for an hour, both gave me what they could afford, and this made me think. There's many people in this world who experience some form of stress, have back problems, and most of us have pretty stiff shoulder muscles, leading to all kinds of issues, ranging from headaches to repetitive strain injury. Many people would benefit from getting a proper massage twice a week, but most cannot afford this, or don't even know about it. In the western world, a massage costs somewhere between fifty to a hundred euros for an hour, and it's not always covered by health insurance, not to mention those who don't even have this.

Over the last few weeks, my ideas have taken on a more solid form, in which I call the Unconditional Wellness Project. I want to connect professional health practitioners of any discipline to dedicate (part of) their time to work on a donation basis, so anyone can afford the occasional massage, sauna, healing bath, or whatever there's being offered. The end goal: have retreat (eco)villages all over the world where everybody is welcome to indulge themselves and pay as they feel, or otherwise participate in any daily activities, like helping out, e.g. with farming, cleaning or doing repairs. Apart from that, there will also be workshops and classes, so people can help those around them that don't have the privilege of being able to travel.

I don't have a website yet, as my priorities are elsewhere. There's only a Facebook group for now, meant to connect anyone who is willing to participate. Anyone who wants to help out, be it by spreading the message, creating a logo, or helping to set up a foundation or NGO, is welcome. There's still a lot to do, as it's all just starting up.

This is my story, thanks for taking the time to read it and I hope to meet some of you during my journey!