Life Without Work

Jesse Shelton is a world traveler and life-long student. He has trekked in the Nepalese Himalayas, hiked along the 88 temple pilgrimage on Shikoku Island in Japan, drank tea in a mountain-top tea house in Taiwan, and spent a few beautiful evenings watching the sun retire behind his beloved Appalachian mountain home. He has studied a wide variety of subjects ranging from Philosophy of Religion and Educational Psychology, to Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Nepali, and Spanish. Most notably, Jesse is an environmental educator and community organizer. He has taught seminars on environmental philosophy and ethics, sustainable architecture, and natural medicine among others.

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“Given an open day, nothing on the calendar and no where I have to be, I would get up around 6 or 7 a.m. to have a cup of tea in the crisp, early-morning; spend mid-morning hiking in the woods; relax in my hammock and read a bit of philosophy in the early afternoon; teach community youth critical thinking skills and environmental-consciousness in the mid-afternoon; and then spend the rest of my day eating, swapping stories, and playing games with my friends and wife. This is an ideal day; which is why I try to make it happen on a regular basis.

I was raised in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. Our home was a 45 minute drive from the nearest city and an hour and a half one-way bus ride from my school. This meant I didn't go to an arcade or community center after school, I read for an hour and a half on my way home and then went to the woods. Growing up in nature, as part of nature, had a huge impact on my sense of self. I felt like I belonged in the world; I was not an agent separate from it, but a natural part of a peaceful, complete whole. There is no loneliness when you're part of the whole. My greatest aspiration is to help others develop this understanding of their nature as well, and to experience the overwhelming peace it brings.”

-Jesse

Email Jesse: Jesse@LifeWithoutWork.org