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Saturday, August 01, 2009

Sitting in Silver City

Publicity, Dancing, & Credit 

Now I'm in Silver City. I have lots of computer access at the U here, so I decided to stay a couple days & catch up on emails before heading "into the wild." But the internet server here was down yesterday.

I'm trying to get used to the sudden publicity & the plethora of emails & comments (both loving & hateful). Thanks for them all, but please understand I usually get little computer time & hope I can read them all & maybe even answer them all. 

Maybe publicity will spoil my path. It can be an ego trip. It seems incongruous with this lifestyle, doesn't it - whatever "this lifestyle" is "supposed" to be, huh? But it's only natural to get a kick out of it, whatever. 

Really, it's true, deep down I don't always live totally without money. I have hypocrisy in me. And I'm not talking about what people keep saying is "mooching off the products of money, like computers & libraries & dumpsters." I can't find any contradiction in that - being like the raven or the bacterium - using what is freely given or freely thrown out, what is released from obligation, debt, making no value discrimination between a pizza or a corpse or a nut. But I'm talking about what's within. I still find myself doing things for self-credit, doing things not out of natural instinct but to get credit, or out of a sense of debt (obligation), rather than from a sense of love. Self-credit is money & money is self-credit. And I deal with this dilema sometimes writing this blog. A dancer deals with this when he dances: "Am I dancing out of the passion of my heart or am I dancing to get credit from spectators?" But does this mean the dancer should stop dancing before others? Should I stop dancing? Should a flower stop blooming? 

However, your work in secret, done for no credit, is what is eternal. Since it must be unseen, of course, you risk being called lazy. And those who judge you as lazy want more than anything for you to expose your work, to give yourself credit so they can praise you, so they too can give you credit, and thus forfeit your eternal substance. 

If you did things for no credit, nobody would know, would they? This is the comical paradox. 

The nations of the world run on working for credit. But don't be like the nations of the world.

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Musings on Hitch-hiking

I'm in Silver City right now, probably parked here till Tuesday, then "into the wild" to hook up with a primitivist I'm hoping to learn from - like better how to live off the land.

A couple weeks (?) ago, after meeting James at the airport in Albuquerque, we camped in the woods by the Rio Grande for a couple days. James started teaching me Tai Chi. I had never realized you could touch the face of God through Tai Chi. This is what James came all this way to impart to me. He has an understanding of the Bible & other world scriptures & religions I've rarely seen before. We feel like we've known each other forever.

James & I got a couple rides all the way to Las Cruces. The first was from a Mexican American who told us he always picked up hitchers. He had gotten stranded once and had to hitch and not a soul would stop for him. Now he doesn't want others to go through that. I hear that story often.

We tried to hitch out of Las Cruces on I-10 for nearly 2 days in the blazing heat, and not a soul stopped. We got a lot of honks and heckles though. James started getting really sick and we walked to the rest stop some 3 miles west of town. Before sunrise, James was getting deliriously ill & couldn't sleep & said he didn't think he could make it through another hot day. He didn't think he had the strength to walk to town. So we tried to get a ride for him at the rest stop. Not a soul would help. Everybody said they weren't going to Las Cruces, but it was the only way you could go from the rest stop (it being one-way). Finally, I stashed my pack there and carried James' pack, & we slowly walked into town as the sun was rising. James called his wife & she booked him a hotel & a plane flight back home.

I felt sad & upset on the one hand - like the rug had been pulled out from beneath us. And I was upset about the lack of help from fellow human beings (& in the heat of the moment I went to the U & wrote an impassioned blog entry, which I later deleted). But beneath it all I knew it was the Divine will, and I felt intense peace. 

Most everybody gets to see life from the viewpoint of the driver, but few know what it's like to be a vagrant or a hitch-hiker. Drivers are scared, based on some truth, but also overblown statistics & sensational media. I understand the fear. I've been both a driver and a hitch-hiker. I myself passed up hitchers in my driving days, and I picked up droves of them too, all without incident. But my friend could have died out there. James & I even asked ourselves, would anybody have stopped if James' corpse had been lying on the ground? People have pointed out that I am voluntarily living this way, and nobody owes me anything. Yes, nobody owes me anything. If I am speaking only about myself, then I am speaking selfishly. And what if I am? But consider that maybe, just maybe, I'm speaking for all vagrants & hitch-hikers, most of whom don't choose this lifestyle, and are even less likely to be picked up than I. This sounds moralistic. But it's just truth. And once in a great, great while, somebody gets mugged by a hitch-hiker, probably less often than when somebody gets mugged walking down any street. Getting out of bed is a total risk.

But the flip side is that nothing is black-&-white, and I began seeing an overwhelming outpouring of human compassion when I started hitching north. But, first, a little incident in Las Cruces.
 

More Usual Police Harassment... ho, hum 

After I had said goodbye to James, I was hot & exhausted, hungry & sad & concerned about James, but strangely feeling exhilarated & in intense peace at the same time. I came upon a Domino's Pizza, which I usually avoid (due to both the junk food factor & my lactose & wheat intolerance). But exceptions are good, & this one felt right. I walked to the dumpster as a cop watched me. I decided to ignore him. There was a full pizza in a box, right on top, waiting for me. So I grabbed it & sat on a curb in some precious shade under a mesquite tree. I took one scrumptious bite, and, as expected, the cop walked up. As he was slipping on rubber gloves, he said, "Put down the pizza. For your safety, would you please stand up, put your arms up and spread your legs?" 

I put down the pizza, stood up, & asked, "Am I being held for any reason?" 
"Well, no," he said, taken aback. 
"Then may I go?" I said. 
"Yes, but we are trying to help..." he started saying. 
"This is prejudice. I choose to live without money and to live as ethically and morally as possible on earth, and I get constantly harassed for it." 
"But we're not harassing you..." he replied. 
"This same harassment happens all the time. Thank you for honoring the law and letting me go," I said, as I picked up the pizza & walked away. 
Though I was turned off by the cop's insincere talk, I ended up admiring for him for actually honoring the law and letting me go without further harassment. That wouldn't happen in lots of other countries.

Hitching North 

The door was closed going west, so I started walking north, to the side highway 185. Interstates are bad news. I walked most the day, without hitching, to find a good spot. I walked through opulent neighborhoods. I finally found some shade from a nice big tree overhanging the adobe fence of a fancy house. I plopped down on my back. It was public land. Then a young guy came out and asked me if I was going to stay there long. I was surprised about the intense mistrust, & told him so. Then, minutes later, another young guy (his brother?) came by & asked me the same, & that I should move along soon. I decided to get up and keep walking. I thought, "Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if somebody came out and actually asked me if I were thirsty (which I was)?" But this mistrust comes with the territory - literally. When you have a lot to lose, you have a lot of mistrust.

I finally reached a spot on 185 that felt right to hitch. As soon as I stuck out my thumb, two really nice young Mexican American guys picked me up and brought me all the way to their home-town of Hatch. I camped by the Rio Grande that night. That evening I feasted on gleaned corn & chiles from fields with canned pintos & a can of pineapple juice from a dumpster & some foraged pig weed. The next morning I put my thumb out & immediately got a ride with another Mexican American named Eddy who talked like Cheech & Chong. He was a total joy to be around. He was delivering food to tiendas all over the area, and chatting it up and laughing with everybody he came across. He said he could do his entire day's work in a couple hours, but it ends up taking all day because of friendly folks. 

I told him it was refreshing how friendly & kind people were here, unlike in the cities. "Yeah, in small towns, people can start remembering what Jesus' message really means. But in the rat-race of the cities, you forget. I was that way when I was living in the cities." I liked how he said this naturally, how he didn't have any agenda to convert me. 

Eddy told me he was having problems with splitting headaches, & how his doctor told him it might be sinus infection. I told him to get it checked out, because doctors once told my late brother the same, and it ended up being a brain tumor. "I know," he said. "I am afraid to get a cat scan for that very reason." But he still lives life with total gusto. 

Eddy took me to Caballo and handed me a bag of cookies and his lunch. He did it as if I were his equal brother. 

Caballo is where the back road goes into Silver City & Gila, exactly the destination James & I were trying to hit going the I-10 way! I put my thumb out & immediately got a ride to Hillsboro from a really friendly 60-something named Embree Hale. Embree is a petroglyphs photographer & there's even an award-winning documentary film about him & his work, called "In Place Out of Time".

Hillsboro is teeny-tiny & beautiful, & seems a town of enlightened folk. After wandering around there a bit, I walked to a good place to hitch, right under the shade of a tree overhanging the wall of a modest & artful house. I plopped the pack down & a 60-something woman immediately came out. "Here we go again," I thought as I braced up. 
"Are you resting?" She asked. 
"Yeah, I'm hitching through." 
"Are you thirsty?" She asked. "Why, yes, I am," I said, grinning in relief. It was as if my wish from Las Cruces were manifesting itself right here. 
"Well, come on in the house," she said. 
It was beautiful in there. It was obviously an artist's house. She gave me cold water, plus a frozen bottle of water. Then she brought a chair outside and put it under the tree by the road for me to sit on. 
"There isn't much traffic out here, but people are friendly and you should get a ride. Are you hungry?" She asked. 
"No, I just ate, but thank you so very much," I said, almost in tears. 
"Well, if you're still here and you get hungry, let us know. Oh, yeah, by the way, the bathroom is right inside the door if you need it." 
A few minutes later, her husband came out to chat. He also reminded me they had food if I wanted it. 

I got a ride pretty quickly from another really friendly 60-something Anglo guy name Jim. We chatted about our travels & families. He wanted to show me the unbelievably huge copper mine on the way, where his dad used to work. It's shut down now, like most mines, because copper prices are too low, he said. He seemed to have mixed feelings about such mega-scars on the land. I often wonder why we need to ever mine any metal ever again, with so much already above ground. It would be so much cheaper & efficient & rational to recycle what we already have. But mining lobbies & tradition have kept this from happening. Maybe that can change now. 

..................................................................................................... 

Musing on Moochers & Technology 

I smile when people keep calling me a worthless mooch. 

When you stop to think about it, there's not a single creature in the world that
isn't a mooch. 

The point of living this lifestyle isn't to become independent, but to realize my utter dependence upon you and every other living creature, and visa-versa.

Why do those who take more than they need call those who take only what they need worthless mooches? Ah, Babylon runs on Orwellian doublespeak, does it not? 

I think about Van Gogh. He was called a worthless mooch who didn't work, who only sold one meesly painting (to his brother) his whole life. Now art dealers have hijacked Van Gogh's work & sell it for ridiculously obscene amounts of money. But Van Gogh was a mooch, and the art dealers, of course are not, right? Can you imagine the next Van Gogh scavenging from an art dealer's dumpster & being shooed away for being a worthless mooch? 

Technology comes from the same Creative Passion as do trees and ants and atoms 

Just because I usually live in a cave doesn't mean I'm a Luddite! 

I remember, in my money days, working as a counselor at a homeless shelter in Boulder. There was a white-haired man there nobody took seriously. He used to carry around tiny metal objects & fiddle with them. One day I was astonished to find out he was a successful inventor. Presently, he was working on a new-fangled bobbin for a sewing machine. It's probably in use in machines today! Wish I remembered his name. But getting credit wasn't his gig. He, like Antony van Leeuwenhoek (who invented the microscope), and like most inventors we've never heard of, didn't care a lick about money or other credit & lived & died paupers. They ran on Creative Passion, not money or credit. Think about all the musicians, artists, inventors, and prophets who gave us all these wonders of civilization Babylonians love to turn around & take credit for! And Babylon hijacks all these things that were freely given and mass-markets them. And Babylon takes way, way, way more than it needs, and doesn't know how to say "enough," and then calls anybody a moocher who dares grab a few crumbs from its table of opulence. 

The stone that the builders rejected becomes the Chief Capstone. 

Hallelujah 
(All Credit to Jah) 
This is the whole meaning of life

Technology is meant to serve us, and it would be a very beautiful thing if it did! But who can deny that we are serving technology, rather than technology serving us? Why do people have less time than ever before with all our labor-saving devices? But is technology the problem? What you own owns you. And if you own, you owe. Owe & own are really the same word. Mammon isn't serving people, people serve Mammon. "Owe nobody anything, except to love one another." Own nothing, share everything, and all comes into balance. Then technology would serve us, not over-run us.

85 comments:

  1. There will always be those who will judge others including you. Do not feel bad and try to stay in the moment.

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  2. It's all about intent. It's not about being seen or getting credit. Credits are useless when it is built on the illusions of this life. There is also no such thing as obligations? Obligations afterall suggest expectations and there should be no expectations if everything belongs to everyone? Take freely, give freely as you say.

    Enjoy your travels. Perhaps one day we shall meet.

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  3. I decided to cut & paste rachel's comment from "Blog Entry Deleted" here, because it shows I can't be as black & white as I wanted to be about the hitch-hiking thing. Life is risk, no matter what, & risk shouldn't stop us from living & loving, but also we have to understand we sometimes just can't handle risk & have to cut ourselves & others slack now & then.

    Hi!

    I have the full original post b/c it was saved in my google reader. So if you want to attach it to this post to let readers see it let me know.

    I'm glad you changed your mind, as I had clicked through to your blog to leave an angry comment before i realized you had deleted it.

    I'm a 23 yr old petite woman who lives in nyc and deals with a lot of creepy sexual harassment on the subways to work, and was violently mugged at gunpoint midday a few months ago, leaving me literally bruised and wary. So as much as I'd love to pick you guys up, I'm nervous letting two strange men in my car alone.

    I dont know how you still feel about it, but I dont think its fair to deride fear. I dont like it either, i used to walk anywhere, any time without feeling like a wimpy girl. I used to feel exactly the same as you about people who were afraid to camp out with me in parks, abandoned buildings, etc. How can they be so closed, why dont they let the world / people in? But i'm scared to now. And i don't need a middle aged man telling me i feel this way b/c i dont have actual love in me..
    I feel that way b/c two grown men attacked me!

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  4. Suelo, you are truly a remarkable man. i don't understand how anyone can call you worthless or a mooch- if they had wholeheartedly devoted themselves to something worthwhile as you have, then i think they would sing a different song. you've re-established my faith in humanity, if that's not too dramatic to say.
    hopefully we'll meet someday. God bless you.
    -krista

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  5. Suelo, your becoming an excellent storyteller-writer, besides the fact that what you're saying is extremely important based on how disillusioned many have become with our current monied system.

    You took the words right out of my mouth when you wrote about Van Gogh. I was thinking about writing something not as good as you had written last night before I fell asleep.

    One thing about technology though. Check out Ray Kurzweil's book on technology called "The Singularity is Near" It's a thick book but you only need to read a small portion of it to get the gist. Basically he outlines our genes are a memory system just as is the memory systems of books, computers etc.... Biological evolution and technological evolution are one in the same. As this pace is advancing exponentially. Once I accepted his premise I had an easier time understanding the difficult transition we are facing when dealing with the speed and complexity that technology has created. Every transition usually has pain involved, sometimes violent pain. Stanley Kubrick told this story brilliantly in "2001: A Space Odyssey." The monolith appeared, at every critical juncture of human advancement. The human race evolved and something violent happened. The bone was used for bludgeoning. There's a split second when the monolith appears in space and Hal then malfunctions, going on his killing spree. Essentially selecting one person to arrive at Jupiter to evolve still further. The old man sitting in the baroque dining table accidently breaks the wine glass. Next scene he's the star child floating above the earth.

    Keep up good work. Keep writing. Eventually what you're saying will become widespread. To quicken the pace I think you should name names. Name the cop. Give the address of the people who move you along. Then they'll have people from the internets showing up with film crews tagging behind them. Then the whole region you're in will become more aware of the support you have. Don't be afraid of unsettling the neighborhood. It's just evolution.

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  6. I am enjoying your blog very much. It's nice to know that you are in New Mexico. I am in Santa Fe. :)

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  7. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE

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  8. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

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  9. DUDE,

    You should see if google will sponsor your homeless escapade........

    That would be siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick brah!!! GRARLY!!!

    Keep hitchhiking south...across the border. I heard you need less money there.Sometime if you are lucky you can get some free rice and beans and maybe even a tortilla

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  10. My concern with all the publicity is that you will be rousted out of your cave by the authorities.

    I'm sorry you get harassed by the cops, but I like how that interaction ended.

    I don't think you're a mooch. But there are people who do mooch. They would probably put themselves in your league, but they aren't. They couch surf, or live with their parents, or a combination of both. They always have central air, internet access, and a fully stocked refrigerator. They are too delicate to work, too delicate to eat out of dumpsters, too delicate too squat in an abandonded building, let alone sleep in a cave. Your willingness to sleep in a cave, eat roadkill, and eat out of dumpsters, says to me that you are not a mooch. I know some people quibble over using a library's internet access, but it's free to the public, not just the working public. I am currently in the process of reducing my expenses, and I will probably give up my home internet access, so I will be using the library as well as any wi-fi around town.

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  11. This blog got me thinking and I Googled:
    "homeless on twitter" Top Hit:
    http://wefollow.com/twitter/homeless
    There's a lot of people on there. I don't know what good it does just yet.

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  12. personally I don't give a flea-fart if you're a mooch or not because your comprehension of the principle is correct. Most people of western culture will never understand the universal laws of give and take. The tendency of the west is to divert attention away from the reality....and substitute it with the fantasy of "I am by my divine right"....which of course is nonsense. This dogmatic idealistic stasis is the result of our Christian heritage and forms itself squarely in belief in the time of the man known as August of Hippo....post mortem, Saint Augustine. It is far easier for a man to hoard what he has to insure survival than to look at life in principle....as purely a set of principals "in motion".....and walk away from the illusion of security to exist on the cast-offs. I do not consider your life any better or functionally holistic than I do anyone elses....you choose to express contempt for the illusion others choose to uphold. That is your choice....and if the intent is to prove interdependency in a universal way...as you state...then fly at er' my friend. If your intent is to prove others at fault......then you have a lot of lessons to learn for this great mother we live on doesn't give a flea-fart for your existence to any greater or lesser extent than any of its other denizens.

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  13. Dear Spotted Wolf,

    What does a flea fart smell like? And tell me...how powerful is a flea fart?

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  14. I've trusted people & I'm not going to do that anymore. Gotten screwed waaaayyyyyy too many times & I'm not going to set myself up again for others to take advantage of me. I tried to help them, but when the shoe was on the other foot so to speak, surprise! No reciprocalicity on their part whatsoever when I was in a jam! They just moved on to the next sucker to suck dry. Then another then another. As long as their are suckers, there will be bloodsuckers! I'm done!

    As for the part about picking up hitchhikers...I will never do that ever in a million years. There's a lot of good people out there yes, but there's also a lot of bad people who wish to do you harm simply for the thrill of it. Just because they think they can get away with it when no one is around. And a lot of them troll the highways to prey on victims - people whose car just broke down unexpectedly. You think robbery is the worst that can happen? Well, perhaps nobody wants to rape a smelly hippy, I'l give you that. Just pray you ain't their prey one day is all I can say!

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  15. Your friend almost died from being in the harsh desert conditions (his choice in the first place), and you bitch & whine about how nobody stopped to give either one of you a ride???

    Why is it someone else's responsibility to help you when you are in a jam??? Why isn't it yours or James' responsibility to take better care of yourselves in the first place? Car, bus, shade, air conditioning, sunblock, adequate transportation, enough water, food, a gameplan if things didn't go according to plan instead of being dumbasses & leaving it up to "god's will" blah blah blah? Why is it somebody else's fault for not wanting to take care of you when you both refused to take care of yourselves? "Into the Wild"...remember what happened to Christopher McCandless???? He fucking died! A slow, horrible, needless death by starvation and isolation by a stubborn path he chose by living his life and leaving his survival to chance.

    People chose to abandon their pets quite often by the side of the road or let them loose in the country. What really happens is they die! It's not some goddamned "universe unfolding in the divine order of things" just because people think happy thoughts & cross their fingers & wish for the best! You gotta take care of yourself and take care of your physiological needs- period!

    Think more about personal safety.
    If you wanna bring poor God into it, then well...God gave you a brain & knowledge to access risks, gather supplies, come up with a game plan, a plan b, etc.

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  16. Ok, so I started reading some earlier postings you had written and this is what I conclude: You can't get laid & have resigned yourself to being a hippie, philosopher, bible-quoting freak because you have realized that you will never ever get laid. Since you like to quote Kubrick, I like how Stanley pointed out in A Clockwork Orange how perverted & violent the stories in the bible actually are. Remember? Young viscious young hoodlum, Alex went to prison & passed the time by getting involved in the prison's choir / church group while he got off reading about wars and sex? You ain't never gonna git laid, are you? You just gave up & pretend to be all zen cause you can't really make it in the real world. And you never could score, huh? Trying to be more evolved by denying your physiological needs leads to repressed perversion. What's your bag? Are you a faggot? Do you fuck poor defenseless animals for fun? Why are you incapable of independent thought other than endless bible quoting? There are some other good books out there too. Or would that threaten your fragile delusional world? Is there really honor & pride in one being a smelly, hippie mooch? Your entire lifestyle couldn't exist for the efforts & hard work of others & what they provide to you. Are you nothing more than an asexual cockroach in the swamp of humanity?

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  17. Dear Anonymous.........Having never smelled or noticed one......I can only venture a speculation they would be relevant to another flea.........

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  18. I used to do a lot of hitchhiking myself and when driving always picked hikers up. But the one bad time was so bad it was the last ..... I stopped for a man who forced me to take him where he wanted to go and the whole drive I was expecting him to kill me. He kept an iron grip on the back of my neck and when he finally slammed out of the car I said NEVER again. I don't care what the circumstances are, I will never put myself in that situation again. If someone looks like they need help I always call and tell the police where they are but it's not worth the terror I felt.

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  19. I believe we are living in an age where many will be fleeing to the wildness' and trying to find refuge in the hills/caves...having military background I know of many things done and to come. I also know the Government has already prepared for that sooner than we expect, event...jails will house us,for those who refuse to "go along with the program "Will you be willing to take an implant in order to keep your job,buy food,keep your home,your children?..not I..so think about this the next time you snub anyone who has become homeless,whether by their choice or not..you may be the smelly bum..as was so rudely stated in a post..besides has anyone thought that the cologne,or perfume they wear maybe smelly to others??? As we mature in wisdom and understanding of life,we also come to know that sex (or getting layed)isn't important,the true agape love and friendship is the most precious,priceless gift.Just a bit to reflect upon...

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  20. Dear WhiteDove,

    You clearly must have problems getting it up or possibly you can't find it anymore due to a excessively large gut.......BUT THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN GETTING LAID!!!!! except food and water.

    PUSSY IS NECESSARY!!! It's a basic need. Maslow has it all wrong. Men's basic needs include Food and water, shelter, and PUSSY!

    Women's basic needs include Food and water, shelter, and DICK!

    Fuck that hippy shit about friendship and true agape love......that's a mantra for ugly people!

    PS. My cologne is the bomb!!! Bitches love my fucken cologne!!! and if they dont.........FUCKEN SKANKS!!!!

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  21. One other thing I must comment on...it isn't our responsibility to "bail folks out" when they come upon hard times,or get in a jam...it's called being an American..it's called doing unto others as you would have done unto you..it just plain human compassion.Yes,picking up hikers is a gamble,but so is getting behind your wheel everyday,yapping on cell phones and texting while driving,air flights,everyday is a gamble.I'm sure some are saying.."well true,but it's asking for trouble,when you pick up a drifter" Let me ask you this,is going to a ATM,getting cash,and then walking back to your car,asking for trouble when you get robbed?When you eat a steak,did you ask for trouble if you should choke?How is one less or more than the other?...I choose to continue the cycle of giving,freely.

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  22. Suelo, Based on the stupidity of many these anonymous comments you might want to reconsider how you're going on this quest. John Francis did the same thing but he spent most of his energies at learning institutions. This venue is really just attracting the most ignorant people. I'm surprised at how bad it is on this site. I would surround myself with people more educated than who are responding here.

    http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200703/profile.asp

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  23. To Dork Digger,( I spelled is as I SAW it)Sorry to burst your dream bubbles,but I happen to be a lady,in good physical shape,and have been referred as a knock-out...inside and out...True we need food,water and air to survive..but I do NOT NEED sex..the simple touch of a hand,a hug,and communication is the greatest gift in life..I feel sorry for you as long as you have such a narrow mind outlook on life,you one day will be a lonely man.Perhaps your angry words come from your desires to be pure minded,jealous of those around you are can be satisfied with the small things in life,and you can't be..spend more time doing big things for others and not looking for your "small dream" you may find it is really orgasmic,not like the peepee you still do on yourself when you think you are "getting off"

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  24. Suelo, Look at the dregs you're attracting on this site. I've been thinking about the points you're making for a decade. It will continue to go round and round with no resolution as it has for eons. Except I think we might make some real progress with advances in neuroscience. The human mind is the first order of influence. The cognitive flaws we make have created overpopulation, over-consumption, ad infinitum. When we understand what's happening and have a plan to change it at the molecular level then we will have the opportunity to improve things. Continue to represent but really, the tools to change the situation will likely come from places like LONI (UCLA's Laboratory of Neural Imaging) and the like.

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  25. How sad it has become when anyone who thinks differently or speaks out with a different message is labeled a hater, a dork or "dregs." I thought this would prove to be an open forum for the exchange of ideas--how disappointing. I have posted as anonymous several times with messages of reason and responsibility. I'm obviously speaking to the wrong group. Enjoy your closed voyage through life.

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  26. In regards to Van Gogh and art dealers, since we live in a capitalist society only activities that involve the exchange of money are considered "legitimate" and "respectable". It's complete nonsense; a lie that we have been pushed into to keep the economy chugging along. So Van Gogh is a bum since he didn't turn his passion into money. The most respected, honored people throughout history have been bums.

    Keep doing what you're doing, Suelo. I find your humillity and reverence towards all things inspiring and encouraging.

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  27. Suelo, The other thing John Francis did that was important is that he did not speak. Thinking inherently introduces logical flaws as I tried to explained by quoting William Abler's book Structure of Matter, Structure of Mind. I think Abler is right in how he approaches cognition algebraically. Now how do you resolve that with your gift for storytelling and writing? I say continue to write but interject more academic influences to explain how situations arise. Take your experiences into the lab, so-to-speak. That way the dregs writing in here will become confused and tired. They will have to google so many unfamiliar words and references they soon pass out.

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  28. Michael, your vain attempt to turn Suelo into a copy of you (a confused intellectual), is inherently evil. It is almost as bad as suggesting that Suelo should sell his soul to Babylon. It is against simplicity, against nature, against God.

    It seems you don't understand "not speaking". Simplicity in wrinting and thinking is a way of not speaking. Pseudo-intellectual thinking, in other words, speaking, is actually counterproductive.

    ReplyDelete
  29. How do know what I've said is vain? Do you speak for Suelo? What you label as pseudo-intellectual is more likely this:

    33
    In an industrial society where people are mostly paid to follow directions rather than talk about
    their work or innovate, hierarchies made a lot more sense.
    >> But the truth is, the looser organic network has always been where Knowledge & Innovation
    occur -- in the hidden, unofficial connections and conversations between people. Just think of all
    the stories you hear about things like the Lockheed skunk works, or Bell Labs -- situations where
    innovation fermented in spite of organizational lines.

    ---
    The internet is allowing Communities of Practice to blossom. What is it you're trying to maintain or prop up?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hey Suelo. I chuckled when you mentioned foraging pig weed. Family members joke about how I "eat my lawn". Right now there is plenty of pigweed and lambsquarter around. Most of my front lawn is grass I grow for no animals to eat in order to cut it, because that's the wacky suburban culture I live in. You mentioned sitting under a mesquite tree. I don't have any around my place but I've read the pods of some honey mesquites are especially good to eat raw or cooked. other members are good too but maybe not as tasty. That is really cool that you are hooking up with a primativist. The more I learn about the free supermarket of edible food growing all around, the more I wonder if local flora should be taught in grade school. Maybe people wouldn't suffer so much when times are hard. The nutrition from weeds usually rivals the cultivars from the farms too.

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  31. Michael, you ask: How do you know what I've said is vain?

    Easy, you are recommending things for Suelo that go against his principles. Among them are whoring for fame, discriminating comments (or abandoning his blogging style) or using an specialized academic language to appear superior.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Dear White Dove,

    Sorry about your penis.
    Better luck next time!

    No, you can't give me a ride home, thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Ted Kozinski was an accomplished intellectual, hated technology, was at one with nature, lived all alone like a hermit, and they figured he was most likely was a virgin too. And look how he turned out!

    Smelly Hippie boy's life style is a perpetual never-ending cycle of at least being dependent on the assistance of others. Well people who are not smelly & actually get themselves outta bed to go feed their families get tired of being expected to constantly bail out those who choose not to. (Ever live with an addict? Never-ending fun for the whole family!) Of course most people will gladly give directions to those that ask, will assist if someone is choking, etc. But to constantly be expected to provide with those who absolutely refuse to provide for themselves, and the lazy bum who has the audacity to criticize others for their skewed sense of entitlement due to some ancient, easily misinterpreted words John once wrote to the Corinithians centuries ago have absolutely no relevance!

    Let's have a round of applause for those hard-working Americans who get out of bed every day to support their familes!
    Let's cheer for those who were actually smart enought NOT TO spend their entire paycheck on booze, meth & pills, shoes or designer jeans and spend it on silly things like heat, rent, food, sanitation, roads!
    Remember in the good ole days when most people would rather die than accept charity?
    Well...that's some nobility in that I can respect.
    Three cheers for those who do bathe regularly so as not to spread disease & infection to others. If one actually read a history book instead of endless spiritual quoting, then one would realize the erradication of many diseases was due to the simple concept of soap & water!
    If Smelly Hippie Virgin wants to go out on his own, then go out on yer own, Son. Just stop constantly expecting others to provide for you when you are perfectly capable of doing so for yourself!
    What's that? Oh...I see...Smelly Hippie Virgin wouldn't get very far on his own...he would have perished years ago if he didn't beg or appear so disheveled that some unsuspecting suckers took pity on him to make him the occasional sandwich or ride. They even repeatedly try to give him money, but I think he secretly spends it on gay porn mags & a bottle of Mickey's.
    I might respect Smelly Hippie if he refused to accept charity from others. Try that one, Son!

    PS: Soap is not the enemy!
    THE CLEANING POWER OF SOAP COMPELS YE!
    THE CLEANING POWER OF SOAP COMPELS YE!

    ReplyDelete
  34. I think Smelly Hippie Virgin is a coward, and makes me wonder what he is really hiding from.

    Some may cheer him on & think he is brave to go out in the world without money & resources or even a game plan....
    But I think he is just being PASSIVE in the most extreme sense of the word.
    Whoopie!
    Is that really something to be proud of?

    WHAT ARE YOU REALLY HIDING FROM?
    STOP BRINGING GOD & BUDDA INTO THE MIX, USING THEM LIKE A CRUTCH.
    WHY COULDN'T YOU HANDLE THINGS IN THE "REAL WORLD"?
    PLEASE DON'T HAVE SEX W/ANY MORE PIGS AS IT BREEDS DISEASE!
    IT'S OK TO BE GAY!
    GET A JOB WORKING IN A DESIGNER BOUTIQUE OR CUTTING HAIR...AT LEAST YOUR TALENTS WOULD NOT BE IN VAIN & YOU WOULD BE HELPING OTHERS!

    DARE TO BE ONE WITH THE SHAMPOO!

    DANCE NAKED IN THE DISCO CLUBS!

    ReplyDelete
  35. ALL YOU COMMUINISTS and PEACKNIKS, MOVE TO F*CKIN RUSSIA or CUBA YOU SCUMBAGS!!!!

    AMERICA, EMBRACE CAPITALISM!!
    LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT, YOU DOUCHEBAGS!!!

    ReplyDelete
  36. White Dove?!?
    When did OBAMA start posting on this site?

    "I'm sorry for not being sorry - socalism sucks."

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  37. Dear Dirk Diggler,

    You got it righ, my man!
    Repression of man's basic needs leads to perversion!
    Let your penis free!
    Wanna get a drink sometime?

    Don't listen to White Dove.
    He/She/It just wants to get you all alone in his/her/its car to molest your gorgeous self!

    White Dove is just jealous because White Dove can't do it without the cover of darkness in a bucket seat.

    PS: Anybody ever see the movie Death Race 2000?

    ReplyDelete
  38. Dear Suelo,

    I deeply apologize for referring to you as a Smelly Hippie Virgin.

    From now on, I shall call you by your real name, Ted Kozinski or The Unibomber.

    Your true identity is safe with me.

    By the way, when I lived in a small, rural, country town, I experienced more crime done to my person & family more than any other cosmopolitan city I had ever lived in.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Dear Ted Kozinski,

    Please feel free to come & forage through my garbage any time.
    I left some rotting turkey legs out for you..,
    Your friend Tommy tells me that maggots are actually a great inexpensive source of protein.

    Now I don't want you to be frightened, Ted...but if you wanna make tea out of one of my used tampons, you are welcome to heat it out of a cracked Slurpy cup.

    (Ohh...women are icky & unclean!
    God has punished them with the extreme pain of childbirth!
    No, it's not because they are inferior, it's just because they were stupid to have made it without using a condom with some retard who looked good at the time in the drunken trailer park.)

    I only offered these as a suggestion, because that is the closest you will ever get to "knowing" a real life woman.

    PS: I also set out a case of ZIMA - completely unopened! Great if you are thirsty "on the road", Jack!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Regarding your concern about this blog ruining this chosen lifestyle, I wouldn't worry about that. I will loosely paraphrase, but didn't Jesus have some metaphor about 3 slaves receiving money from their master, and the slave who stashed the money in a hole in the ground got punished while the slave who spent it (or invested it) was rewarded? Well, to compare to your "wealth," i.e., your spiritual knowledge and your convictions, you are "investing" this gift within the world by sharing this blog with us. I, personally, have been very enlightened by your posts and I truly thank you for going out on a limb, risking hateful comments and risking "getting a big head," by sharing this with me. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  41. And now ladies & gentlemen...I give you...

    THE 6 RAUNCHIEST MOST DEPRAVED SEX ACTS (FROM THE BIBLE!!!!)

    www.cracked.com/article_16546_6-raunchiest-most-depraved-sex-acts-from-bible.html

    ReplyDelete
  42. THE 6 RAUNCHIEST MOST DEPRAVED SEX ACTS (FROM THE BIBLE!!!!)

    www.cracked.com/article_16546_6-raunchiest-most-depraved-sex-acts-from-bible.html

    ReplyDelete
  43. THE 6 RAUNCHIEST MOST DEPRAVED SEX ACTS (FROM THE BIBLE!!!!)

    www.cracked.com/article_16546_6-raunchiest-most-depraved-sex-acts-from-bible.html

    ReplyDelete
  44. THE 6 RAUNCHIEST MOST DEPRAVED SEX ACTS (FROM THE BIBLE!!!!)

    www.cracked.com/article_16546_6-raunchiest-most-depraved-sex-acts-from-bible.html

    ReplyDelete
  45. THE 6 RAUNCHIEST MOST DEPRAVED SEX ACTS (FROM THE BIBLE!!!!)

    www.cracked.com/article_16546_6-raunchiest-most-depraved-sex-acts-from-bible.html

    ReplyDelete
  46. THE 6 RAUNCHIEST MOST DEPRAVED SEX ACTS (FROM THE BIBLE!!!!)

    www.cracked.com/article_16546_6-raunchiest-most-depraved-sex-acts-from-bible.html

    ReplyDelete
  47. In case anyone missed that, it was 6 Raunchiest Most Depraved Sex Acts from the Bible 6 times!

    ReplyDelete
  48. It's Kaczynski and if you would have read Mr. Daniel's blog, he clearly stated he was not a Luddite, which Theodore Kaczynski was

    ReplyDelete
  49. Dear Serpo,

    Regarding the misspelling of a famous serial killer's name...I was using creative poetic license a la ee cummings. I think you are hip to that 'cause you neglected to use proper punctuation at the end of your post.

    Not sure who Daniel is???
    Possibly Daniel Boon wanna be? The author of this blog???

    As for Luddites, I really don't care which wacky, nut-job school of thoughy one subscribes to...I jes' call 'em all crazy, Fool jus' like Mr. T!

    Thank you for your comments.
    I appreciate that you took so much time out of your very busy day to address my comments and correct my grammar.

    I was curious, which raunchy, depraved sex act from the bible do you feel is best?

    I rather enjoy Dirk Diggler's work - he gets the job done!

    White Dove: No chance in hell for you!
    Maybe you can hitchike w/Kaczynski & eat my left-overs from Popeye's Chicken! I'll leave ya some dark meat as it appears you so desperately need it.

    Serpo can't help you...he is too busy with his Luddite that accidently got stained because he thought he was washing with Woolite.

    All my love!

    PS: Michael Jackson is dead!
    Just in case Ted Kaczynski missed it out living under a rock during the past month.

    ReplyDelete
  50. I don't know why I'm surprised at the ugliness of some of these comments, but I would just like you to know that I found the article about you interesting, your website as well, and have put your blog on my Favorites to keep track of what you are saying.

    While we live a fairly simple life as fulltime RVers, it's certainly not simple compared with yours, but we have great respect for what you are saying, and the way you are living your priciples. You're the very furtherest thing from a mooch, and your thoughts are valued, at least by me.

    good luck to you.

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  51. Shaking my head,seeing once again the truth of the times we live in,sad at the ugliness written..I also admire this man's journey,ashame the world has been so blinded,and corrupted,they forget where they evolved from,or where they could be today.

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  52. Keep on doing what you are doing Daniel, and ignore all the mean, nasty,childish people who pour out all their filth and hate because they fear anything different or unique!! and White Dove, you have my respect...ignore the scum!!

    Take care!!

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  53. I refuse to be ignored by you Lonewolf!!! White Dove please don't ignore me!!!

    I DEMAND TO BE HEARD!!!

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  54. Dear all you tree hugging wannabe spiritual broke ass hippy fucks,

    Money is equal in importance to oxygen in the USA - WITHOUT IT YOUR FUCKED!!!

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  55. James & I even asked ourselves, would anybody have stopped if James' corpse had been lying on the ground?

    Let the dead bury their dead, Daniel. "James" is nobody and nothing, as I'm sure you realize -- at some level, at least.

    Best of luck to you.

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  56. I see envy in these comments. It is clear Daniel makes some people feel inferior, so they feel the need to cause harm to him. Not very different scenario than the man who becomes a millionaire (with vision and hard work) and is humiliated by his poor and envious friends.

    Please people get over it, you can not be the best in everything under the sun. Somebody is going to be better than you.

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  57. Suelo,

    I have to admit that I have conflicting feelings about your blog and description of your money-free lifestyle.

    On the one hand, I really respect and get what you are doing. I think you have a lot of good points-in terms of not just being a consumer, getting out of the cycle of debt/indebtedness, living in a manner that is kind to the environment.

    On the other hand, there is a nagging feeling behind all of this that for whatever reason you are choosing to live on the perimeter of life. I'm not just saying this because of living out in the wild and traveling along the fringes of society. I'm saying this because there is a persistent melancholy to your blog entries (IMO). It seems like you are straddling two worlds, "normal" society and near utter aloneness (like McCandless). It confuses me that for someone who is so learned about the different tenets of so many different religions, that you eschew really being part of society. I can't pretend to know a LOT about it, but it seems that a lot of religions have the common thread of loving each other and giving of yourself for someone else.

    I can't help but feel that part of our time on earth is meant to learn and just be with other people. Humans are pack animals to some extent, and I think there is much to be gained from participating. It makes me wonder if you live the way you do because it's too emotionally taxing to be around people all the time? Also, there are some people who don't care for romantic/sexual companionship, but I don't think very many are truly created that way.

    Also, I hear your points about how you aren't a mooch, but dumpster diving and living off of people's kindness amounts to the same conclusion as those of us that buy food in stores. The only difference is that most folks *participate* buy doing the work and spending the money. What difference does it make if the end product is the person eating, whether it's from a refrigerator or out of a dumpster.

    I'm not intending to be critical, what I'm trying to say is that I think it's possible to live with society, in a community, even work and own things (bed, toilet, etc.) without abandoning the principles you hold dear.

    Of course, life is a gift and the best part is that we can choose how to live our own lives. So however your journey continues, much peace to you...

    ReplyDelete
  58. Hi Suelo,

    In relation to what you wrote about Van Gogh, the poet Emily Dickinson seems to have written a poem about the notion of "selling one's work".

    "Publication is the auction" : http://www.repeatafterus.com/title.php?i=2695

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  59. I have enjoyed your blog and I pray for you...

    The only thing I would like to suggest, is that you consider letting someone care for you when you are old. Don't give me any of that nature-runs-it-course....you serve no one if you die of thirst for the simple reason that you broke your hip and couldn't get to the water.

    Besides, it isn't just for you, but for whomever you allow (funny word that) to care for you. There would be a lot to be learned from you that doesn't translate well online. There is humility that comes in being a caregiver--if you can't be a caregiver, why not be the other half of the equation?

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  60. To Miguel who posted up above:

    You Comment might be one of the gayest postings on this comments chain!

    Thank you for your pathetically sad insights!

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  61. George Sodini hadn't had sex in 20 years - apparently frustrated he couldn't atract much attention from women, opened fire in a Pennsylvania health club last night killing 4 people + himself.

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  62. Wait, why do people care about this?

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  63. I really admire you.
    Can we keep in touch? I am a journalist and filmmaker from Brazil, and I want to know more about your life without money.

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  64. Wow, talk about living off the grid. Keep it up. I also admire and fully believe that debt is slavery!!

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  65. A most interesting blog. You are doing what I suspect many would wish they had the balls to. Your web site is also of interest. Well done you.

    p.s. to WhiteDove, good stuff you too.

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  66. Great post. It's good to know compassion and humanity aren't completely extinct.
    And I'm glad to hear your retort. =]

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  67. I'm not cracking on this man in any way,shape or form..but regarding the things that are going on in this world,US etc...I just gotta say this:Well when I have had enough, I will pack my bag,head for the hills, to be safe and sound forever….
    Yeah right..with my luck I’ll crawl in a cave that has a grizzly chunking up who knows what,with a thermometer up his rear…I won’t be able to drink from the springs because of the mercury,flouride,small pox,turn homo who know what was poured in the rippling brooks/// as I run for another cave /sucking on pine needles.not N1H1 needles I hope,.I’ll probably run into Bin Laden, and let him know the war on terror is over..just so he can let nancy pelosi know she can pull the swastika out of her @** that hopefully someone stuck up there in a Hall Meeting….well when all my safe refuge hunt has been lost..I’ll be sure to let Clinton be the one to get me home safely….by that time my address will be 999 FEMA Camp ,NWO,60606 signed still an AMERICAN..USAlways WhiteDove
    Thank unstranger for your support ;) and lonewolf also

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  68. I just read this...
    Study: Your Brain Thinks Money Is A Drug
    at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111579154&ft=1&f=1001

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  69. I like what I'm reading. Best of luck to you!

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  70. Altruism, as everything under the sun has a dark side too:

    "What results from the prevalence of altruism is conveyed in a widely told story in the Soviet Union. It was the story of the Russian who is asked by God to wish for something that he would like God to do for him, on the understanding that whatever God does for him, he will do twice as much for his neighbor. After hearing this offer, the Russian asks that God pluck out one of his eyes, so that his neighbor can lose both eyes. (The story was reported by Hedrick Smith, in his book The New Russians, New York: Random House, 1990, p. 204.)"

    http://www.georgereisman.com/blog/

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  71. Suelo has a dark side, believe it or not.

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  72. Just found your google website - great stuff man. Keep at it!!

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  73. Suelo,
    I realy enjoy your blogs ,I think about you often ,I wish you well . matt

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  74. Hi Suelo,

    I really like your blog.

    My question to you is the following:

    What do you do to 'give some effort back' into society besides educating people about what is real in this world?

    I mean do you physically labor to help others or support other people in need?

    If the essence of this world is people working for other people as we are all dependent on each other, what is your role in this given the current life you lead today?

    -Mike

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  75. Dear Suelo,

    Your posts and website are wonderful. This part was particularly useful to me right now: "However, your work in secret, done for no credit, is what is eternal..."

    I'm glad I found this blog. I currently live in quite some unnecessary luxury in a rented house in England on less than £5,000 a year, hitchhiking and foraging and giving away as much as I can.

    I think the nature of the fearful comments on here are a stronger argument for the truth of your words than anything you could say yourself.

    Ghandi said you have to be the change your want to see in the world. We'll do it together, brother. In love,

    Elk

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  76. It appears that Daniel has some critics and some negativity thrown his way. Daniel answers these people in a more than adequate way, but I would like to add some points because I think what Daniel is doing is very significant.

    Homo Consumerus seems to have his buttons pushed by Daniel! Let's see, some want to say that he is inconsistent, others that he is "compromised," and still others that he is only a mooch and a leech. Well, first of all, as Emerson(or Thoreau) put it: "Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." You will never break fresh ground or create something new or cross any frontier if you worry about being consistent--that's what imprisons most people's creativity, this worry about consistency. And when it comes to a whole way of life, I think it is absolutely crucial to let go of that demand of consistency and let life take you where it will(or should I say the Spirit). About being compromised: well, there is some saying that we all have heard that pretty much sums it up: the perfect is the enemy of the good. No one will be "perfectly" disengaged from this social matrix, but does that mean that one should not seek disengagement to whatever degree one can manage? I myself plan to move in Daniel's direction, partly due to his inspiration, partly due to my own monastic past(lost and recovered!). At my age and health, I don't believe I can go as far as Daniel, but that does not mean I just give up and become a 100% Homo Consumerus. And that brings me to the last point--the accusation of being a leech on society. Actually, I take a radically different position: Daniel is owed a "tithe of bread" if you will for providing a great service to the rest of us: a reminder that we are much more than consumers! Ok? How much of our society and life is built around this mantra: buy, consume, buy, consume…. Making a profit is our religion and God help you if you get in the way of my making a profit! Our friends at the magazine ADBUSTERS are crying out: Reduce your buying; reduce your consuming--don't let the multinationals and Wall Street define your life! Well, Daniel has taken this the "whole way" and he "deserves his pay"--whatever he finds in that dumpster, whatever he finds in the library, whoever gives him a lift, etc., he has more than earned by doing this service of reminding us that we are more than consumers. Thank you, Daniel!

    Victor

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  77. Being wise is not living in a cave. Although it is possible to live in a cave and be wise. I am sure Suelo is wise, but he sometimes mistakes the little details with the essence of things.

    Being rich in the world is not bad. What is bad is to be poor of spirit.

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  78. Suelo,

    I appreciate your blog entries about your life!

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  79. Thank you for this. Goatspeed. Namaste!

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  80. You?
    A moocher!!!!??????
    You are very courageous soul who lives off what the real moochers waste.
    Some of us are inspired by what you are doing.

    Henry

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  81. I wish I could have the faith to do what you are doing, maybe not to the extent you are doing it because of the ones that depend on me for their every need, but the faith to live on what I need and not wnat I want....to have the faith in God to provide for me and my family......

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  82. what an awesome I opening perspective. Thanks for your courage and example, what a rare and special thing, I will certainly read more

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  83. You know, I had a thought when you were talking about fighting that feeling of debt and of wanting credit or an audience. -Desire-

    Consider the mating rituals of birds - preening, colorful, showing off, wanting to be noticed. What can we do? Extinguishing desire is the goal of religions, but are the birds so bad? A choice everyone makes for himself. Just a thought.

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  84. Try not to waste too much of your energy responding to the "mooch" criticism. It really is a silly criticism. You give far more than you take.

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