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.

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.

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.