Could You Survive Without Money? Meet The Guy Who Does - And is Happier Than He has Ever been

One thing I think everyone should investigate more is the rising number of people living and contributing to Eco-Village type lifestyles.

like this one as an example; www.ecovillagefindhorn.com...


has everything you need to stay healthy and happy....in my opinion

reply to post by BlackOps719


I seriously thought about the OP's Q over the last 2 days. Could I survive without money?

Yes, I think I could although it would have big consequences for my present life.

Could I do what the man in the article did? Live in a cave and live of the land & water only?

No probably not.

I would like to live in some sort of house / farm togehter with other fam. / ppl. Live of our own vegatables and fruits. Purefly rainwater or water from a lake. Even better live nearby a waterfall

Trading services / tools / etc could very well be done IMO.

Luxury? Yea I love some of them simply bc I have them now. Could I live without them? Yep, no problem.

I see why that man is happier then ever now. See the less you have, the less you have to worry about. It's as simple as that.

i like the story and believe that renouncing attachment to the material world is the way to true happiness and enlightenment...although, easier said than done for me. I'm a very material person and like expensive things, and have an unhealthy obsession with brand name sunglasses im trying to overcome

Ive definitely became more spiritual over the years tho and would love to go on one of those retreats. Fiance and I live in a rural area and i love it and would totally love to have my own farm someday.

Originally posted by miss_sky Fiance and I live in a rural area and i love it and would totally love to have my own farm someday.

Seems like you fit this story...

I was homeless for a while. I could have went on for a long while that way.

When I came back, I didn't plan on staying. But I did somehow.

It's hard to explain.

Before I left, I felt I needed XYZ.

When I was coming back, I didn't want XYZ anymore.

A lot of the things we think we can't live without we can in fact live without.

But somehow I got stuck here.

I don't think people are wrong for living the way they do. Rich or poor. Smart or dumb. People are people. I could sit here and make an argument that this guy is inspired. I could also make an argument that he's a lost and confused man. It all depends on the person that's making the argument. Everybody puts a spin the facts and cherry picks. We're imperfect beings.

The average life expectancy for a homeless man is about 49, btw. There's large amounts of bread and junk food that gets donated to places. That can kill you fast. And quite a few of them do use alcohol to dull the pain. They have various ways of dulling the pain they're feeling inside.

If you're still healthy, the freedom is like no other feeling you've had before. It's like entering a world you never thought existed. For a moment you feel like an invisible alien in this world.

Maybe exaggerate the dangers and fears. There's no doubt that bad things can happen, though. But people live very secure lives and do not understand what life is like outside of that.

In some ways, our society is too private. I think it'd be nice to see "settlement" communities that put everyone who lives there to work making the place self sufficient. It would have the bare minimum of resources needed to ensure that most anybody could live there and find work. Each new person coming into the community would have to have a new unit built for them and food and water and all of the other basics. All of the costs would be accounted for and this person would have to make up for it through their work they do. Since it's a settlement area, people would quickly become like family. YOu'd learn how everything works and the ins and outs. Nobody would be kept out of the loop. Things would be kept simple to not exclude people.

These communities cannot replace society. But I think they could fill a small need for something like this. Just like the peace corpse or the military or some shelters or so on. Or the Amish.

You could go and stay there for a month or a year or however long it feels right for you. But I'm sure there'd be a deposit if you don't stay long enough to make up for the initial consumption.

A man in ancient Greece did something similar to this , his name was Diogenes and personally I think he was the smartest man to ever live. To quote him " The noblest people are those despising wealth, learning, pleasure and life; esteeming above them poverty, ignorance, hardship and death." He lived in a wine barrel for most of his life and hung out with a pack of hungry dogs.



You can learn more about him here members.optushome.com.au...


It is said that one day , Alexander The Great walked up to him and told him , he would give Diogenes whatever wanted , seeing the poverty his favorite philosopher lived in. Diogenes response was that the only thing he wanted was for Alexander to get out of the sunlight he was soaking in. One of the true heroes the human race has ever seen.

reply to post by miss_sky

Well if it works for you then great. But not everybody wants to renounce the material world. Most people will not, I'm sure. But nothing stops you or anyone else from renouncing these things.

So renounce and spread the message. Be yourself.

reply to post by Reptius

When I made a reply I didn't realize this thread was so old. Me and you are nearly 3 years late.

But diogenes lived, what, 2000+ years ago? 412 BC?

I've done this before and had the thread locked or had my account tarnished.

So a thread in 2009 is too old and diogenes is 2000 years old and not too old to mention?

If Diogenes were here, this would all be science fiction. 2009 2012 5723 it's all the same.

reply to post by Republican08


many people called freegans survive on the tons of edable food discarded by super markets every day .If an employee takes this free food they are fired an prosecuted for theft .If a member of the public helps themselfs its ok .Fight the systen become a freegan just dont eat anything that moves.Maggotts have to eat to.

Being in the modern world is good, it has its benefits. The thing about happiness is people consider luxury as a huge factpr in it. Big houses, sports cars and the likes. While a plain simple home and car would do good.