Thank you for visiting. My name is Don Benoit, glad you could join me on this journey.
I am a contemplative person by nature and since entering the path that has increased tenfold. After slacking through High School and lacking any real direction or ambition, I settled into a blue collar job as a machinist, raised a family, and tried to do everything I thought I was supposed to do. Consistently disappointed and disenfranchised I decided to walk away from the “striving” lifestyle.
Life Events
A few years before the aforementioned changes life had already taken a rocky turn. My marriage had unravelled in 2009. Not long after my seperation I started dating, and moved in with an old friend whom I had breifly dated when we were younger. We are now happily married.
During the transition to my wifes house (she had 2 kids living there at the time as well as her mom in an im-law apt.) all the new stresses found me at the end of my rope. A series of events led me to meditation and Buddhism. The experiences I’ve had in my short time on the path have led to profound insights and major changes.
A new direction
Giving up more than a third of my salary as well as PTO and other benefits, I took a job as a full time Mold Designer at a much smaller company. At that time I also decided to cash in what little I had in my 401k. The purpose being a sort of pre-retirement / intentional living experiment. I will note, none of this would be possible without the amazing support of my wife. I work fewer hours and take quite a bit of unpaid time off and am enjoying life like never before.
Many people can run the treadmill just fine and thrive. Such is not my case, I was not made for this world, at least not in the way most believe we should be living in it. My self imposed austerities have been challenging, but are leading me in a new direction, even as I write this. Thank you for visiting Blue Collar Buddhist.