Dare a different way of living...

In life, we move in circles as my friend Antonis says.
I decided to write about this circle of my life that seems to be closing these days. A way of living that most people can't really understand , some think it doesn't make sense and some other find it interesting. I don't know how to describe it in few words but I think it moves around three philosophical schools of ancient Greece , stoicism, cynicism and pythagoreanism along with some Indian Brahmins' ideologies.

During that trip in Asia my inner world was affected in many many ways. I came back to Greece in May 2015 with my bank accounts, wallets and pockets empty. Last time I had zero money, till that very moment, was when I was 14 years old or something and I m telling you.... I felt FREE. No fears on how to survive as there is plenty of food in nature here in Crete.

Thoughts of Indian babas (baba is something like a priest for Hindu but much less materialist) were often in my head. They believe that life brings you everything you need.
I remember a baba named Parsota in Pushkar (in December 2014), a man who did a lot for me during a week we spent together, including food, yoga and big discussions so that my last day there, I wanted to offer him some money. His reaction was to show me a box in the temple (each baba in India has a temple to take care of), saying "you can put as much as you can/want in there".

Baba Parsota

Life always seemed so wonderful and money held always the role of the ultimate evil that would corrupt the human existence.

All the above, made me choose a different way of living (i m sure other people live similarly) , a living that proved sufficient for survival and decent living,  and a great get-away from this crazy capitalist world.

The very basic principles of this lifestyle are:

• Do only things/works/projects that has a real meaning for you and are not profit-oriented
• When you must be paid for something you did, don't negotiate how much your work worth and don't ask for money in your hand. Instead, have a little box or a little bag where people can put what they want or what they can afford to repay you. You must never count what they have put inside and always inform them that you won't check how much money they gave you (That way they donate unconditionally). Payment is surely welcome in the form of food, shelter or other services... exchange system.
• No consumerism, buy only what you really need
• Cultivate, gather your food from nature and when you have too much of something, share share share and transform it so it can last longer (marmalade, dried fruits,etc) and again share the transformed one.

The second of the principles above is a bit bizarre for our society... Every time you have to explain that you don't want a certain amount of money for your day's duty but to receive (if they can) a secret unconditioned donation in you little bag, people think you are strange. The other little technical problem is that you need to be able to take money out from that bag when you are in need, without knowing what is/was inside... Many times after somebody put some money in my little empty bag and i had to take some, i had to ask somebody to change the money to smaller notes and coins. Maybe all this is a little psycho but i was able to live decently for 2.5 years. The more active you are, the merrier income you ll have in you little bag.

What you might earn by living this way?

• The biggest lesson is that you realize that you can really survive in this world without money.
• You will learn many edible herbs, plants, fruits and seeds, the season to harvest and many ways to transform  the food.
• You will come across your pride and ego many times and you ll take them down to the floor.
• Many other good things will appear randomly as you move, work, meet people.

Drawbacks and discomforts you might experience:

• Long time without earning money due to small work demand.
• Can't always follow your friends in taverns, cafeterias or anywhere that would demand a decent amount of money.
• No much travelling (I got lucky with that part).
• In a northern country in winter time, it seems impossible to collect food from nature... unless you hunt.
• You parents will have a hard time accepting the way you live.

These two and half years were very intense for me. Many beautiful moments and many times where you feel lost.

I had a dream.... to find a nice field somewhere in nature, with a small river (anything with clean running water) nearby. There I could live (without electricity), cultivate, have friends and visitors from all over and build something nice that would fit well with the lifestyle I described above.
This dream didn't come true yet and this lifestyle doesn't fit perfectly in a city-life.

It is time for me to open a small window in life, where some small profit-oriented activities will take place...

It is time for you to dare some changes in your life...