Penniless and Free

The recession has caused many to think long and hard about their relationship to money. Why does it mean so much? Why can't we just do without it? Well, most of us really, really love our clothes, cars and, uh, food, and we need money to buy it. But Details Magazine found one man who has decided to go without.

Daniel Suelo has had jobs. He has a degree in anthropology from a university, too. But after a stint as a monk in Thailand and living with the sadhus in India, he decided that he would bring the practice of "seeking enlightenment in self-abnegation" to America — where he lives without money in a cave. He forages for his food and he bathes in a river.

Many people who see Suelo might think he's homeless or just plain crazy, but his philosophy doesn't sound so weird, especially during these days of financial duress. Suelo says in Details that he's "Giving up possessions, living beyond credit and debt ... freely giving and freely taking, forgiving all debts, owing nobody a thing, living and walking without guilt ... grudge [or] judgment."

And he's not the only one. A documentary called Living Without Money profiles a 67-year-old German woman, Heidemarie Schwermer, who used to be a psychotherapist and in her practice found many unemployed who felt worthless and many employed who felt equally miserable even with work. She decided to start a bartering circle, which worked so well, she gave up her apartment, donated all of her material belongings and decided to live entirely without money herself. She's now lived 12 years without money and says she's never felt freer.

For most of us, money means something. But at least we know that humans have the capacity to live without it.

Photo courtesy of Borman818, via Flickr.