Fueled by Rice

Faithful NewsCut readers have probably discerned that nothing interests me more than individuals who set out to see the world on their own terms, leaving jobs, or cubicles, or the security of the known behind.

Today, word comes of a new group of people to add to the list.

Fueled by Rice consists of six friends bicycling for "peace, simplicity, and the environment."

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But not around these parts.

Having biked from China to France five years ago, they're now biking from Germany to Thailand.

Minnesota native Peter Ehresmann (far right, above) is one of the six. He writes on the group's blog:

First, excessive Income is not needed and does not lead to greater happiness, therefore maximizing income should not be a goal. A common human weakness is that one often wants more money, stuff, comfort, and security and it is too easy to never be satisfied while constantly postponing one's happiness until one gets or does x, y, and z. Van Halen sings in "Right Here Right Now," "the more you get, the more you want, just trade in one for another, working so hard to make it easy, gotta turn this thing around, right now!" Happiness is available to us right now; it is an attitude and state of mind, and the Buddhist way is to stop wanting. Enough money is needed, yes, and where one is living is a large factor as to how much is enough, but Nick read that generally a person's happiness doesn't improve much with increasing income over US$30,000/year for one person, which can usually go far enough for a simple lifestyle in a developed country and would be a luxurious amount in a developing country. Families naturally would add accordingly.

If you're stuck in a cubicle today, you'll want to spend some time with the group's photos.

(h/t: Kari Koshiol )

Fueled by Rice

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