Awhile ago I had the great fortune to run across the website of a very interesting mother and son team: Raising Miro.

I read their blog, watched their podcasts and fell in love!

Hopefully you’ll be as inspired by their journey as we were:

Tell us a little bit about your family

I am  Lainie Liberti a 44 single mother, ex- business owner, artist, designer, brander,  writer, creative thinker, activist, liberal, dog lover, and traveler currently exploring the world with my almost 12 year old son, Miro.

My son is Miro Sevin Siegel, 11 years old in this current time-stream moment. He is not very athletic, and prefers fiddling with all things tech. He likes bricks, card tricks, wearing a cape, playing RPG’s and going to burning man. He’s uber intelligent, charming, articulate and funny. He’ll engage you in his fantastic imaginative worlds and surprise jump on your shoulders for the occasional piggy back ride while telling you a library of“…a guy walks into a bar…”jokes.

In the beginning of 2009, we sold or gave away all of possessions and hit the road for a permanent adventure beginning in July of that same year. Miro was only 10 then, and according to our plan, we have 6 ½ more years of our adventure before he turns 18. Over  a year and a half later, we have slow traveled throughout Central America, taking our time in each country and now find ourselves in South America, with with no stop in sight.

What are you doing that is fabulous?!

Our life is a fabulous adventure.

• What could be better than seeing and exploring different cultures and being proud ‘global citizens’?
• What could be more informative than the world as Miro’s classroom?
• What could be more grounding than living in the present moment, staying inspired,?
• What could be more rewarding than doing volunteer work and participating in the world, without fear?

Our lifestyle is fabulous and we are grateful each and every day this is the life we’ve chosen.

Tell us about your family vision

There are several things that keep us inspired: Humanity, being in the present moment and giving back.

Humanity:

No matter the language, not matter the circumstances, people can connect through their eyes. We have the inherent ability to understand one another and connect authentically if we just give it a chance regardless of the culture, life circumstances or economical challenges. A smile goes a long way, and people are kind. We have had so many heart warming experiences on the road that take place through  a glance, but they are very real.

Being Present:

When I was pregnant I read Eckart Tolle’s The Power of Now, and from that moment I have embraced the practice of being in the moment. My exploration of the concept has taught me to trust my intuition, follow  inspiration and allow life to happen without resisting what “is.”Being present is the practice of all of those things and traveling has allowed us to experience  these aspects my daily.

As for Miro, he is the most grounded and present person you’ll ever meet. We support each other in that way, allowing each day to unfold, exactly as it should. Many are not comfortable not knowing where they’ll be the next day, the next week, but we have come to embrace it as part of our lifestyle.

Giving Back:

Both Miro and I are crazy about animals. We have found working with animals is natural for us, and specifically dogs seems to move us both. We’ve volunteered in Nicaragua at a make shift animal clinic working in triage helping them after surgery. We also volunteered at a cat rescue in Belize, helping with the daily chores for over 70 animals. Also, here in Colombia we volunteered our time to help with a NGO who works to change laws protecting the rights of animals.

We have had several other volunteer opportunities on our travels, including working at a school for theater and performance, volunteering with children and helping in community gardens.

How did you get started?

The circumstances that led to their current lifestyle were an amalgamation of many things lining up to create a path of least resistance. There were really three main factors that led to our jumping ship from the conventional lifestyle: inspiration, economy and mental sanity.

Being inspired  means living a simpler life, something that is now trending in progressive circles, defined through the term ‘lifestyle redesign’. Before I had even heard this phrase, I was itching for a life off the ‘grid’ and outside consumerist cycle of ownership and debt.

Professionally, I owned and ran a small branding agency which focused on serving green -eco business, non- profits and conscious business. I had created as much peace as I could within my professional life developing branding strategies & designs for these companies, but recognized I was still functioning within the world of consumerism and marketing.

Another consideration was the responsibility of being Miro’s primary care-taker in addition to running my own business, which did not leave us very much time together. In other words, this meant that most of the time, I was busy, busy, busy.  I tearfully recall the most common phrase I heard from my son (after“I love you”of course) was“Mom, you work too much. You never spend anytime with me.” I still have difficulty expressing the heartbreak I experienced every time I heard my son utter those words.

In 2008 the economy took a tumble and business in California were greatly effected. Especially those that relied on the non-profit world as it’s clientele. At that point, the most pressing question running through my head as the year closed was,“Just  how much lemonade can we live on?”

Always the optimist, Miro and I discussed our options. After much contemplation, we agreed it was time  for a change and to close the agency after eight years of business and hit the road for a simpler life.  And that’s just exactly what we did.

The financial challenges may have been the catalyst for change, but the choice to adapt a nomadic lifestyle was based on the trust Miro and I have in each other, and in life itself. And as we approach our second year traveling, we remain excited about the possibilities and optimistic about the future.

Oh, the places we’ll go…’

What have been your biggest challenges or successes?

Our biggest challenge has been financing our travels.

We live frugally. We couch surf, we eat local, we try to cook for ourselves whenever we can. We walk a lot and we volunteer. We have been living on a $1000 a month budget for two people and that’s doable in the countries we’ve been in.

Twice on our travels we’ve been down to $10 but both times we have been expecting money from clients from past jobs I did on a freelance basis. However, I am completely and totally burned out on branding, web design and strategy for clients, I have vowed not to do it anymore. I am walking away from my past.  I am indeed committing professional suicide. That’s ok for now.

So, where we are at the moment financially?

Well, we have very little money left. Seriously less than $200.

How will that last?

Not sure, but we are resourceful. I am completely and one hundred percent committed to making a living through our blog and podcast, and I can’t think of a better time to make that happen, than when we have literally no money. We’ve received a sprinkling of donations in the past and that’s helped keep us afloat, but this model is not sustainable.

Now we are seeking sponsors and advertisers for our blog and podcast and the same way I have learned to trust the universe, I trust my intuition that we’ll be fine.

What would you do differently if you could go back and do it over?

Not a thing.

What is one myth you’d like to dispel about your lifestyle?

The biggest myth I’d like to dispel is that Miro is not getting an education. He is, as Miro and I  are “unschooling.” In fact we have discovered there is a movement and a name to describe exactly what we are doing. It’s called Radically Unschooling.

The philosophy behind unschooling is that children will learn what they need to know when they are ready and want to learn it and this flows through every other aspect of life.

But there are exceptions, of course. I’ve seen games spark Miro’s interest in mythology, quantum physics, history and culture. We’ve had an open platform to discuss humanity, violence, and choices because of video games. I’ve also seen Miro’s research skills improve as the internet and google are second nature to him. I didn’t like going to the library when I was his age to research because it was so overwhelming.. what a drastic change for this generation.

It is apparent how much Miro is thriving, learning guitar, singing, writing stories and has become almost fluent in Spanish.

What would you tell other families who want to do what you are doing?

Traveling has allowed me to experience trust, fully and openly.

• I trust we’ll be fine in the world.
• I trust that we are on path.
• I trust this is the best experience for my son.
• I trust only wonderful experiences will come into our lives.
• I trust that things always fall into place and we’ll meet the right people and find the perfect circumstances.
• I trust the universe and I can’t think of a better way to raise Miro.

If you’d like to learn more about this dynamic duo, please visit their website, Raising Miro, or find them on Facebook, or follow @ilainie on Twitter. You can also leave a comment or note for them here!