I lived without any possessions for more than five years and I existed very well. It is freeing not to own anything. The few clothes I wore, I borrowed. I also used a toothbrush and a comb. But that was it. And it was very easy.
I was on an explicit spiritual path and did not want to be encumbered by any possessions at all. It seemed extreme but I loved and needed the uncluttered feeling of meeting life head-on without the constant maintenance of objects and physical details around me.
I was able to live completely joyful with nothing, showing me that it is possible. Having no possessions had no impact on my happiness except possibly adding to it. When it came time for me to rejoin the world of ownership and things that were “mine,” it was an easy transition as well. But life became more complicated and my energies were spent more on physical self-maintenance in addition to the inner journey to which I was committed.
So I did more than just exist without all the trappings that attest to the “quality” of person that I am. People who met me, accepted me, or didn’t accept me, just as they do now that I dress like an up-to-date female in the Western Hemisphere. But I know from experience that none of my possessions define me and they never will. For they all disappear, go out of style, get worn out, and get lost—while my Soul is eternal and is the Real Me.
I was on an explicit spiritual path and did not want to be encumbered by any possessions at all. It seemed extreme but I loved and needed the uncluttered feeling of meeting life head-on without the constant maintenance of objects and physical details around me.
I was able to live completely joyful with nothing, showing me that it is possible. Having no possessions had no impact on my happiness except possibly adding to it. When it came time for me to rejoin the world of ownership and things that were “mine,” it was an easy transition as well. But life became more complicated and my energies were spent more on physical self-maintenance in addition to the inner journey to which I was committed.
So I did more than just exist without all the trappings that attest to the “quality” of person that I am. People who met me, accepted me, or didn’t accept me, just as they do now that I dress like an up-to-date female in the Western Hemisphere. But I know from experience that none of my possessions define me and they never will. For they all disappear, go out of style, get worn out, and get lost—while my Soul is eternal and is the Real Me.
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