A Suelo Life?
After reading, viewing, and pondering the Suelo- Modern Transcendentalist Article, Suelo's Website, and Suelo's Blog Link, what are you drawn to acknowledge or critique regarding his
"Transcendental" perspective on life and the way he tries to "live
deliberately?" Please argue using quotations and other evidence to
support your claims. This blog response is due on August 29th by 3:40p.m.
posted by Greg T at Sunday, August 26, 2018
32 Comments:
Daniel Suelo, I believe is a living enbodyment of Transendentalism, because he didn't do this to make a point or for fame he did it for himself to really find himself in nature. Nature has various different meanings to us but Suelo stopped and took a minute to look around and enjoy what he had in life. Our society should follow in his footsteps, now I'm not saying that we should give up money but we should follow that maybe we all need to stop and take a minute to enjoy what's around us. Damian Nash a high school teacher said "He is living proof that money can't buy happiness (Nash)." Which everyone should follow that quote in life you don't need or to have money to make yourself truly happy.
Based on reading the article "A simple Life" I got the impression that Daniel Suelo was one of a kind a choose to separate himself from the society almost in a negative way. "it would be like going back to slavery" Suelo says about our society and or processes. He almost bashes on the rest of the population besides himself. Everyone is in the wrong except for himself because he choose to take a different path than others. He is very unhumble about what he does is what I think. He chooses to go out of his way to go to the library and display all of his work, but isn't that what he was trying to avoid was our society and all the things it has to offer,technology included? Don't get me wrong, what he is doing is very cool but the way he chooses to display it is not something I would expect.
Firstly, I’d like to clarify that you won’t ever find me living in a cave; but, with that said, I think there might be some merit behind what Suelo has been saying. Our society, and likely many others, has a tendency to get caught up in it’s own problems. Individuals stress over the details of their life within “the system,” to the extent that we often neglect to take invaluable time to reflect. Taking a little time away from it all grants a person ample opportunity to introspect, which in turn can result in further personal growth. However, this is different from attempting to abandon society. We must also keep in mind that we crafted this society for our own benefit. Sure, there are a lot of problems within it that need addressing; but, completely disregarding hundreds of years worth of innovation feels wrong. Instead of completely abandoning “the system,” or becoming “slaves” to it, I think we should work to improve it so that all who are a part of it may prosper. We must maintain a healthy balance between the natural and man-made world for the sake of our mental health and continued success.
After reading about Daniel Suelo, ive come to the conclusion that I could not live the same lifestyle as him. Suelo has completely seperated himself from society and the way we function today. The life he is living is extremely unhealthy and unsanitary, which will most likely lead to a shorter life. However if seperation is what makes him happy, then I can support that idea for him personally. Suelo has found himself engulfed by nature, and for the most part it controls his everyday life. When the weather is bad, Suelo has to change all of his plans to accomodate mother nature. Once again I could not live this lifestyle, making it just a little more interersting to me how he does it.
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After reading and thinking about Daniel Seulo and his way of life, I have decided that Suelo's way of life would not work with me. He has chosen to remove himself from society in what I feel like is a negative way. The reading talks about how Suelo uses no money and lives off the land and Walmart dumpsters. People see him as a "leech on society", and I agree. Things didn't get the way they are by people living in caves and eating trash. For him to be a member of society he must contribute to it, and not just reap the benefits with no work. Living this way is also unhealthy and dangerous, he could eat something bad and have serious health problems that require attention from a doctor. But he has no money to pay the doctor so he could just die if something goes wrong. Overall, living like Suelo is not a good idea, in my opinion, it is much too risky for the reward of not worrying about money. But it is interesting that he chooses to do this in the first place. - Jack B
Daniel Suelo’s lifestyle of living without money is very interesting, and there are some parts where I can agree with and others I can critique. Suelo describes himself being happier without money, and not stressed about his future or any problems. Although I doubt he is problem free, I can see how being out in nature like he is and roaming freely around the town makes him happy. I too experience happiness when I am outdoors, whether that be in the middle of a desert, like where Suelo lives, or walking around in a town or city. Having an even blend of healthy social time and time spent alone also makes a person feel happy and energized. The amount of exercise Suelo is getting is sure to make him feel happy as well. Compared to people who use money, the happiness may be a little less. People with money can buy cars, which means they get less exercise, and they can buy cell phones, which means they don’t get a good amount of social interaction. What I can critique about Suelo’s lifestyle was addressed by another person in the article, Damian Nash. Nash addresses how “[Suelo’s] lifestyle does depend on a group of people using money, and some people saw this as a contradiction…” (Paragraph 3). I agree, as although Suelo is not using any money himself, he relies on others to spend money. One example of this is how Suelo goes to the library to use their public computers, so he can edit his blog. Even though he is not paying for the computer, the library originally bought the computer and had to pay for the electrical expenses following Suelo’s use.
After reading Suelo's article it has really made me think about how much money is such an important part of my life. I for one could not live a life without money. Throughout my childhood I have been taught you need to make money in order to buy food and the basic necessities of life, so it has never even occurred to me that you would choose to go that long without money and can still be healthy and clean. One part where I disagree with what Suelo was doing was when he stated "But the longer I do this, it seems absurd to go back," he says "It would be like going back to slavery." I disagree with this on so many levels, but mostly because people who were in-slaved didn't have a choice, he has a choice. Also people would die from slavery and if he went back to using money he wouldn't die. I just don't see how both of these things can correspond with one another and be compared to them being the same thing. One thing I do agree with is when he describes himself as being happier without worrying about money and how to pay for things. While I agree that this probably takes a big weight off of his shoulders, he can't necessarily be carefree all the time, everyone has their own issues with or without money. Another thing which I agree with him on is he seems to be at peace in nature and it helps him stay calm. I understand this because at times when I am in nature I feel the same peace and calmness even though I feel this way I can't see myself as living out in nature everyday, like he has done. But overall I think that him living with no money has its ups and downs, but in the end it is his choice and what people think of it and him won't change what he does.
After analyzing the life of Daniel Suelo, I think that this is an insane way to live. Not living without money or any form of currency seems very unrealistic especially in today's modern society. Living from old scraps of food, showering in the Colorado river, and not living in an actual house is not a way of life. It's the equivalent of being homeless, not trying to have a simple life. I totally understand being a minimalist and trying to minimize tangible items but being borderline homeless is not a healthy way of life. Overall I’m just stunned that someone can live like this. “The piles of trash behind Moab’s half-dozen self-storage facilities provide a steady supply of clothes, tools, bedding, and utensils” said Daniel Suelo. I wonder what Daniel’s thoughts are when he is searching for goods in the trash. Does he think this is normal or gross or does he just think this is just a natural way of life. I also wonder what people who see or know him think of him. I know that his friends have tried to help him by giving him money but he refuses. Personally, I would feel awful knowing that my friend was living like this so I wonder how his friends feel. Although this is a crazy lifestyle, Daniel Suelo is very courageous and impressive. He can still manage to be so positive and happy even with his living conditions. This is such an important part of life! Things shouldn’t determine our happiness and we can all learn this important skill from Daniel Suelo.
Daniel Suelo's story in the article, "A Simple Life" shows us the extreme nature he has gone to, to be a transcendentalist. Throughout the article we learn that he strongly dislikes our society, and how it is ran, as he bashes it saying. "It would be like going back to slavery." Even though it would be bad for him to try to get back into our way of living, comparing it to slavery is very severe. Even though I do not disagree with the idea of transcendentalism, I do disagree with the way he expresses himself while talking about our society. If he were a true transcendentalist, he would be an activist for it and try to be the best role model for people to follow his beliefs. You cannot be an inspiration to people by completely removing yourself from society and continually talking bad about it. A real transcendentalist would do the physical things that Daniel Suelos did, but would never try to establish himself higher then everybody else.
After taking the time to read the article “A Simple Life” by Jason Blevins, one would come to the conclusion that Daniel Suelo lives a life far from normal. The article describes how Suelo is extremely happy with the life he lives even though he refuses to use money, eats his food out of garbage cans, and lives in nature. Suelo seems to crush the ways of the american lifestyle. For example Suelo says, “It would be like going back to slavery. There’s just too much of a price to pay.” This quote really does not do anything justice, the life that he chooses to live does not and should not compare to slavery because many people did not choose to be stuck in slavery and nowadays, people choose the way they want to live their life. As Suelo writes and posts about his life, he is looking for attention from people around the world and making people feel bad about the way they live their lives. Daniel Suelo lives a very simple life that many would not think about living, which could go either way of being very interesting or very hard for various reasons. Personally I would never live a life the way Suelo chooses to because it is very different from the way I have lived my everyday life, and it would be a hard adjustment to just change.
After reading “A Simple Life” I find Daniel Suelo’s way of living without money very surprising. I understand and agree with his idea that people should not need money in order to have happiness. Suelo mentions that he is happier without money, and not worried about the past, present, future, or problems. He is carefree. Although I can infer he still encounters obstacles, I understand that he uses nature as a way to increase his happiness. I think people need to have a hobby or passion that allows them to escape their problems so they can be mentally healthy. Suelo’s passion just happens to be nature. Money can buy materials, but it can not by relationships or a healthy mind. This might factor into why people who use money to for happiness are ultimately unhappier. One critique I have about Suelos lifestyle is that he is still using money because ll things cost something and are not free. The stuff Suelo fnds in the trash had to be produced somehow and they took money to produce. Also, when Suelo walks everywhere it is costing him time. Suelo might not be using currency but he is not living without cost. This idea was touched on in the article by Suelo’s friend Damien Nash, “[Suelo’s] lifestyle does depend on a group of people using money, and some people saw this as a contradiction…” (Paragraph 3). Suelo still depends on old products and other people. I think t is very inspiring what Suelo is doing, but also I think it is necessary because he will never reach his goal of living without any cost and it takes more time to do simple tasks like get from one place to another and find food. Also, by not buying anything or being part of the economies labor he is not supporting the economy. Personally I would not be able to live this lifestyle because the opportunity cost will be too high since I would be wasting, time, energy, and not supporting economy all for just the benefit of finding myself.
After reading “A SImple Life” I mostly tend to agree with Suelo because he is living his life they way he likes to and is comfortable. I disagree with the way he expresses himself to the rest of the world. Suelo says “It would be like going back to slavery” talking about coming back to “normal” society. This is a very extreme way of saying he doesn't like how society is. The way he lives his life is very interesting because he does not care about materialistic objects. He gets food and clothes and all his necessities from what other people throw away which is what I find most interesting.
After reading the article, "A Simple Life" I found that he is living his life style a different way. He is living his life without having any money. In the article it says that Daniel Suelo wears clothes that he found in the trash, included a wide-brimmed hat, dress shoes, and slacks. I get it that he doesn't need money in his life, but money can buy a lot of things. He is dependent on finding things instead of buying things with his own money. He is like in his own little world and he is different from society. The idea that he toured Alaska for two months penniless, living off the land, and eating things that are on the land, I am wondering what people think about him. Is he living a healthy life style? Is he going to do this for the rest of his life? Having no money for him, buys happiness. He is getting everything he needs in order to live. He is so positive and he believes what he is doing is right for him. Personally I couldn't live his life style because it will be hard for me to live out in nature and eat there and find stuff that people throw away. It will be a hard change for me to adapt to.
While reading “A Simple Life”, an article about a man who has dedicated nearly a decade of his life living without money or exchanging of goods of any sort. Everything he owns he gets from the trash or nature. Daniel Suelo lives in a cave, grows some of his own food and has gotten everything else he could need from the trash. The world that is evolving around us has made it possible for Suelo to do this, we throw everything away if it is still good. That being said, I do not agree with what Suelo has done. If more than just a handful of people had given up the use of money then there would be many complications in society. The human race needs to throw away less goods. However, there is an importance to doing things for society and being apart of the system. It is how society grows, people have almost always used some sort of currency, from the beginning of civilization. He says that he is not apart of the system and is proud of it. Which is one of the worst parts. Suelo is living off the system and not adding to it. He does not provide anything but he is just taking things. He isn’t helping the economy and he isn’t trying to. In recent years, Suelo has had to move back to society. In my opinion that is what is best. Someone can isolate themselves but they do need to admit that they are apart of the system. Even if it is purely because they live in it.
Suelo’s “A Simple life” is an over idealized unrealistic lifestyle. Suelo portrays this lifestyle like there is no other way to the point of saying returning to normal life “would be like going back to slavery.” This idealizes this lifestyle as if it is a superior way of living. He treats money like it is the enemy he considers it “the addiction that fuels corruption”, even though he admits he couldn’t do this without people using money. This is hypocritical since he still greatly relies on money even if he himself does not use it. Suelo is living a life that he thinks is great but is unsafe and unrealistic.
When reading " A simple life" the philosophy that Daniel Suelo lives by are unreasonable to the way modern America is today. "That currency is a corrupt system". Capitalism is the economical system that america was built on as a country. Throughout history people have traded, positions, land, money, and other people (yes the slave trade too). All of these where traded for wealth or power. And money is not all bad, it is simply a trade tool, exchange for one thing for another. So what Suelo is saying that money is bad, it's the idea of not having enough. But money itself isn't bad. So the philosophy that he lives by are not entirely right. Sure the fear of not enough money is very here in society, but the way we think money is that out come you will have.
The idea of transcendentalism in theory sounds really good. It seems difficult to live by though. Suelo has figured out a way to life his life as a modern transcendentalist. Suelo lives by not associating with the government and he uses no currency in his life. He lives life without money. At first it is surprising to hear someone living without money because it seems impossible. Suelo lives by finding things in the trash and taking dotations that is given to him, he never asks. I feel like my feelings about this go either way. I feel like Suelo is simply just using people's money through products that they throw out, I see him just like any other homeless person. But, at the same time, he’s different and he isn’t stealing. His ideals are pure and he plans to live life purely and the way he thinks life is supposed to be lived, in harmony. So I applaud him for that.
After reading about Daniel Suelo in "A Simple Life", I learned that he is living life the way it was meant to be lived. Money isn’t important and it isn’t one’s only source of happiness. Suelo is different from the rest of the world population in the way that he doesn’t need to have the most expensive items or live in the biggest house. In fact, he doesn’t even need to live in a house. All one really need is some shelter and a place to bathe. Life was meant to be lived without any currency and after trying it, Suelo learned that he likes it better that way. He doesn’t want to have to worry about having enough money to pay for certain things because he doesn’t use money. He finds clothes that are used, he makes food that he hunts or finds, he lives freely. I know that I definitely wouldn’t be able to live the way Suelo lives, but I support the fact that that’s how he wants to live.
While reading "A Simple Life", an article about Suelo, a man who lives without money, I got mixed emotions about what he said and does. He says he does not use money, but in a way he does. If everyone decided to do what Suelo does then there would be no extra food for anyone to eat so in a way people have to live with money for Suelo to survive. I also agree that people waste lots of food. I also feel like a world with no money would be a happier life because people worry too much about social media and how many likes they get on Instagram, and a world with no money there would be no social media to stress about. I am very curious if he is going to live with no money forever. I feel like it would be hard to just go from having money available at all times and then no money at all. It would be a hard adjustment for everyone, but after the first month or so I would assume it would get easier. America has gained from Suelo's movement because it shows just how much money doesn't bring happiness to people. It also shows us that we waste so much food and we can improve that.
Although interesting, Daniel Suelo's transcendental lifestyle detailed in "A Simple Life" is unrealistic and risky. Suelo's lifestyle, I find, very hypocritical. Suelo doesn't take part in money as it promotes a corrupted system, but his lifestyle is incredibly dependant on this system. Even then, regardless of this argument, it seems like a cop-out reason. I feel there are deeper reasons Suelo lives the life he does. This transcendental lifestyle is fundamentally flawed based on the reasoning. Suelo seems like an interesting guy though, his ideals just don't match with me.
My main reaction of reading, "A Simple Life" was simply, why and how. The question why, is mainly asking why do you want to do this, what made you want to do this, why does he feel like this is the best version of life for him to live. And the question how, how does he start this journey, how does he have the capability to go through with always living like this. And then when he said that "it would be like going back to slavery" I could better understand why and how he wanted to go through with living solo with absolutely no money. "going back into slavery" is meaningful to him by saying, he doesn't want to go back into what life is today. With society, and politics, and all of the things happening in the community is something he does not want to go back to. Being isolated im sure has its pros but also its cons in being somewhat "alone"is the conclusion I came to.
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When reading “ A Simple Life” I had a lot of emotions because there were many situations in the reading when I had many different things to say. When Suelo says “ I got my clothes from the trash” I was shocked. I had no idea that someone would throw clothes away. Suelo also inspired me because he showed us that there is much more to life than money. He was a transcendentalist towards money, and when he was given any money he would just give it away. Suelo also showed me that money doesn’t always buy happiness, and that it is possible to live without it.
After reading the article I have came to the conclusion that I could not live the life suelo lives because It seems like the way he separates his self is in a negative manner. I say that because he wants to be so independent, sometimes its okay for help.
After reading the article “A Simple Life” written about Daniel Suelo, and searching through his own website, I believe that Daniel Suelo is a perfect representation of transcendentalism. Daniel Suelo is the perfect representation of transcendentalism because he lives off of barely anything and states that “The addiction to money fuels corruption.” and that he “refuses to support a corrupt system.” Daniel Suelo lives the transcendental lifestyle because “He is living proof that money can’t buy happiness. The idea of transcendentalism is an idea that there is more to life than what we see with our own two eyes. Daniel creates an idea of transcendentalism with the lifestyle that he lives because he believes that not all happiness and contentment comes from what we are feed to believe in society. I completely agree with Mr. Suelo ideas of living because he has created an ideal world for himself in which he is living a minimalistic lifestyle that allows him to not fall under the control of those governmental ideas that society continuously circulates in our lives and minds.
After reading the article about Daniel Suelo I see him as a very inspirational man in many different ways. One of the ways that Suelo was inspirational was that fact that he would refuse to receive money from anyone who offered it to him. I find this inspirational for one reason, and that is because he was showing that people were relying on money to do everything in life but that we didn't need money at all, and that if we just saw what he was doing it would make everyone see that. Another thing that makes Suelo so inspirational is the quality of his belongings. Suelo was living his life without a phone or technology, without very many clothes, and without money. This is showing everyone that we cling to these things but we don't really need them to be happy in life. Suelo was a very inspirational man and even though some don't see it that way, that is because they didn't look at it from the right angle.
After reading the article on Daniel Suelo, I am still a sceptic. He presents some very valid points, like “We are all completely dependent on each other. The point is to live freely, in the present,” and “We use all our energy to maintain possessions, and it becomes ugly...” Even though this is a moderately modern example of transcendentalism, I still think it’s pretty unattainable today. But I do think that Daniel Suelo's spirituality is a part of transcendentalism that we can resonate with today. Spirituality is a part of Daniel Suelo's life and was a big part of Ralph Waldo Emerson's too, and I think spirituality is more easily understood than aspects of their transcendentalism. Suelo says that we first explored this way of life when he was confused and wanted to find out what spirituality meant for him, and I find that very inspiring. When at that crossroads in his life he says, “The only way to know is to try it. I want to be able to talk from my heart and live it too.”
From the article on Daniel, I am feeling hope. Daniel makes various points that can be relatable to many people. I now look at Daniel as a hopeful, and well driven man. He is inspiration to my thoughts, and I may not be the only one. I find interest in the pride that he takes. He takes pride of what he has and does perfectly fine with so little, and that's quite appealing to me. Many could disagree with Daniel's lifestyle because of how lonely he is. In my eyes, independence can be one of the best things for you. I like the lifestyle and the state of mind that Daniel stays in, and it's quite inspirational to me.
After reading the article I've noticed a few things. Suelo doesn’t live off of money, he does what he can in order to survive in a different way than the people who use money. People use money to buy what they need like food, clothes and other necesites that humans would normally need. Whereas Suelo uses things around him whether it’s in the trash or just simply laying around. He doesn’t really have to worry about anything even though he doesn’t use money. Our minds revolve around so many things and money is one of them, we rely on money so much that I don’t think we notice what’s really important. His friend decided to give him money to see if he would use it because his friend thinks he should use money for a few things but he just gives it away like a present. People would argue about that, I could see why but it was his choice so I don’t see why we should interfere with that.
After reading "A Simple Life" about Daniel Suelo I think the way he lives can influence people who want to be transcendentalists but it can also be critiqued. He lives without using money because "the addiction to money fuels corruption... he refuses to support a corrupt system", "taking things as they come naturally is the key to good health". These quotes could inspire other people to live a similar life to his. Although Suelo doesn't believe in the corrupt system, he depends on a local supermarket to feed him. "Thriving on the waste f a small town. Every week, he inspects Moabs trash finding more than he needs...eschewing an abundant supply of day old doughnuts or expired sweets", with this quote one could argue that he live a life he says he does, because he depends on a local market to keep him fed.
Daniel Suelo seems to be an interesting man. Daniel tries to disregard owning his own materials. Everything, even money. He lives off of garbage and depends on anything except the U.S Currency. I like how he has made his life that simplistic while everyone else continues to revolve their world around money. He doesn't really work or at least have an income, its got to be easy but at the same time hard. Overall I think Daniel is in his own right mindset, he is happy and living fine. An example of this is in the Ted Talk, The Gift Economy, when he talks about how people work for money and forget the values and essentials they gain along the way, such as practice, training, learning. Daniel flips that around and instead takes in what he needs to know and doesn't take income.
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