If you read my book, Live Full Throttle: Life Lessons From Friends Who Faced Cancer you’ve seen pictures of this shepherd wagon.

I didn’t know what it was when I first saw it at Dirty Annie’s in Shell, Wyoming, but then learned that shepherds would live in these 7’x8′ abodes as they tended their grazing herds, protecting them from coyotes, wolves, bears, cattlemen and other predators. Imagine living through the winter in Idaho, Utah, Nevada, the Dakotas, Wyoming or Montana in one of these things! Funny what you can do when you’ve got to do it.

I ran across this story about a family of six who happily lived in one of these tiny wagons. I learned a lot about survivor skills, including how they burned animal poop for fuel. Check it out.

I’m enamored by the stories I’ve read on the Tiny House Blog about people who are joyfully living their lives in tiny abodes like this. They modify caravans like this one; they might live in a couple of shipping containers, or a yurt. Their motives for doing so vary, but most want to own their homes outright; some have itinerant jobs; all want to live simply.

Maybe today you’ll join me in looking at all the encumbrances you have around you that tie you down and narrow the choices you have in life. Maybe you’ll ask yourself,  “Do I need (that extra thing)?”