Living without money
In 2000, Daniel Suelo gave away all his worldly possessions, left his last $30 in a phone booth and wandered into the wilderness of the American Southwest. This, he says, is when his life began. Although I am not interested in attempting to walk off into the desert and live in a cave myself, I do respect the decision to follow your own beliefs, however extreme they seem. He writes a blog called Zero Currency.In his words;
"I've been totally without cents since Autumn of 2000 (except for a couple months in 2001). I don't use or accept money or conscious barter - don't take food stamps or other government dole. My philosophy is to use only what is freely given or discarded & what is already present & already running (whether or not I existed)."
Intriguing to me because I am starting to learn about foraging wild edibles (more on that in a later post).
Then, there's this 69 year old woman, Heidemarie Schwermer. Her story seems a little more accessible as she is still living in society but has found a way to go without money or material possessions. She 'had it all', owning a house and raising children and grand children but had the nagging feeling of unrest and saw the vast inequality of wealth. In 1996 she gave away all her belongings in order to experiment with the idea of living without money. Slowly but surely she has managed to step outside the existing structures and find a new way of living, free of worries and possessions.
Two
years later she gave away all of her belongings in order to make an
experiment where she would live without using money. Slowly but surely
she has managed to step out of the existing structures and find a new
way of living, free of worries and possessions. - See more at:
http://livingwithoutmoney.org/about-the-film/about-heidemarie/#sthash.bD4ZQrdc.dpuf
What about those living full-time in vans/motor homes/trailers?
Without Bound: Perspectives on Mobile Living focuses on the "imbalance of freedom versus comfort in modern society." This is not about homelessness but about a conscious decision to live a mobile life as a way to expand mental capacity over material things. Some are forced into this life due to divorce, financial hardship or a devastating fire but it remains that they chose this way of living over simply renting another apartment or house and filling it with things. This I can relate to.I can't say as I am setting out to say "down with the man". It's not a political or social decision to live in my camper, but one of a desire to leave the rat race and see what I am capable of. A coworker told me recently that she thinks I'm brave in what I'm doing. I've heard this before but it never quite sits right with me. There's a large part of me that thinks those who stick with it, go to work, pay their bills and earn a retirement are the brave ones. They don't run away from the routine and structure we have evolved into, instead they face it head on. In a way I'm the one copping out and running away from going back to school or getting a "real job" with a potential for retirement with money, instead of parking my camper in my sister's backyard and eating grass and dandelions. (She's fully aware that this is my retirement plan, along with my other sister who will also be living in her back 40)
Do you think sticking to the regular routine or selling everything and heading into the unknown is more brave? Maybe they are equally as brave in their own way?
In
1994 she founded the “Give and take central” – Germany’s first exchange
circle. Two years later she gave away all of her belongings in order to
make an experiment where she would live without using money. Slowly but
surely she has managed to step out of the existing structures and find a
new way of living, free of worries and possessions. - See more at:
http://livingwithoutmoney.org/about-the-film/about-heidemarie/#sthash.bD4ZQrdc.dpuf
In
1994 she founded the “Give and take central” – Germany’s first exchange
circle. Two years later she gave away all of her belongings in order to
make an experiment where she would live without using money. Slowly but
surely she has managed to step out of the existing structures and find a
new way of living, free of worries and possessions. - See more at:
http://livingwithoutmoney.org/about-the-film/about-heidemarie/#sthash.bD4ZQrdc.dpuf
In
1994 she founded the “Give and take central” – Germany’s first exchange
circle. Two years later she gave away all of her belongings in order to
make an experiment where she would live without using money. Slowly but
surely she has managed to step out of the existing structures and find a
new way of living, free of worries and possessions. - See more at:
http://livingwithoutmoney.org/about-the-film/about-heidemarie/#sthash.bD4ZQrdc.dpuf
Heidemarie has published the book Das Sterntalerexperiment – mein Leben ohne Geld (“The sterntaler experiment – my life without money”) The book is translated into Italian, Spanish, Japanese and South Korean. She has also written the book WunderWelt ohne Geld.
On Heidemarie’s website you can find more information on her thoughts, her life and her experience with living without money. Here you can also download her unpublished book In Fülle sein ohne Geld (in German) for free .
Heidemarie has published the book Das Sterntalerexperiment – mein Leben ohne Geld (“The sterntaler experiment – my life without money”) The book is translated into Italian, Spanish, Japanese and South Korean. She has also written the book WunderWelt ohne Geld.
On Heidemarie’s website you can find more information on her thoughts, her life and her experience with living without money. Here you can also download her unpublished book In Fülle sein ohne Geld (in German) for free .
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