The Life Change Experiment News

Geoff I hear your call. As I mentioned in my email to Bessie and yourself,I hope with all of my heart that other people 'hear you voice' and that selflessness thoughts resonate through them. I am a student of Environmental Management. I was talking to a lady last night and she asked me what I did. Well, I said "I am an Environmental Management student", but I must have said it in such a glum manner that she said, "Oh. You don't sound happy about that". I love my course, but the problem is that I study ecology and I dabble in sociology, and I know that the answer to the planets problems rests with us all: what we all need is a monumental shift in our mindsets.

I see your actions as playing some part in getting the 'possessions are nothing' word out there on a grand scale. If we all did away with wanting, wanting, wanting and throwing perfectly good stuff out we could reduce the demand for precious resources.(I op shop, I hate to buy new. I'd love a new tv, but I refuse to throw my old giant out because it still works, and we don't watch tv that much!!)

I thank Bessie and yourself for paving the way!!

You go you good things, and congrats!!

Lesa

I have been looking at some of your websites, you have both had really interesting lives. I will follow your blog when do you leave.

Your amazing adventure reminds me – in spirit – of an "experiment" some friends of mine performed about 28 years ago.
They decided to go a whole year without using money, as much as physically possible. They bartered for everything from rent, to food from the local markets and farms, went without electricity – and for the small "luxuries" (like having a few beers at the pub with a group of mates) they would spend the morning weaving cute little Grasshoppers from palm leaves, and selling them for $1 each.

At the time my Mother was working as a Youth Worker, and …as with everything my Mother did, she became very involved in her job right from the beginning. By that I mean that during the first week she discovered that a lot of kids (most of them around 14 or 15 years old) were living under bridges or in the park, and suddenly they weren't anymore, because they were living with us! A lot of the kids had been on the street since they were as young as 11, so all of them had done things that were illegal, just to stay alive.

At first they all thought our friends and their "experiment" were just plain nuts! Who would choose to live without money if they didn't have to? But they all learned so much from it ~ just something as simple as bartering (legal)services for food or other goods was a complete revelation to them!
…and of course we all became experts at weaving those palm leaves into grasshoppers for when we were out of bread or milk ~ or if some of them wanted to go to the pub for a few drinks!

This was before things like Austudy or the Living away from Home Allowance, and because of previous experiences, most of the kids were very wary of anyone who worked within "the system" so none of them were officially fostered, so naturally, money ~ and food, were a pretty big deal in the house. (Someone once asked my Mother how many children she had, and one of the kids answered "5 permanent and 15 casual")

As you can imagine, their experiment taught all of us a lot, and those lessons helped us get through many tough times.

It was something they chose to do for themselves – they weren't trying to change the world – but they changed the world for a lot of angry, scared "juvenile delinquents" by their actions.

Wow, you two must be so overwhelmed! Just shows you how many people are discontent with their current way of life. Most of us dream of doing this but let our fear of the unknown and lack of control stop us. We do believe that things will make us happy and when they dont, we get depressed and lose faith. Out of all of this, one quote I saw has shifted something inside me.
"Want nothing, have everything" I was so focused on getting to where I thought I wanted to be and never living in the present moment, always focused on a future moment in time when I got that "thing" that would make me happy. I realised that I was not living at all! Finally stopped and realised that my life is NOW, it's all here for me to enjoy.
Geoff and Bessie, you two could have so easily been caught up in the material and shallow side of life, 2 beautiful, sucessful individuals that from the outside have everything that we think makes a happy life. The fact that you are turning your backs on your lifestle and "stuff" is remarkable. I truly hope that your journey brings all of you the entire spectrum of experience that will enrich your life in ways you probably cannot even imagine. Many lives will be changed by your journey.
All the best XO
Claire

You are so inspiring that I wrote to Oprah about you!
Generosity always gives back to you in other beautiful ways!

You two are an inspiration. Most of us wish to leave behind all the material things but it is easier said than done. I trully admire the determination you'll have

Just as I have said to Bessie and Geoff, life is short. To get something for free is great but life itself is the ultimate gift. Live your life and enjoy it because you never know what is around the corner. There is always someone worse off than you and that is how I look at things. Yes it would be wonderful to have someone give me something I would like, but who needs it more?????? Selflesness is a gift on its own