slowly first

then suddenly

The Moneyless Man is a non-fiction autobiographical account of Mark Boyle’s experiment in living without money for a full year.

Boyle was a former businessman who chose to reject money to reconnect with basic human needs, community, and nature. The book combines storytelling with practical observations, philosophical reflection, and tips for a simpler, less money-dependent life.

Boyle grew increasingly critical of consumerism and the environmental and social harms caused by the modern monetary system. Believing that money shaped human relationships and distorted priorities, he decided to live entirely without spending or using money for a year to test whether a fulfilling life was possible outside the #economy.

Before beginning, he made a few one-off purchases — like a solar panel, a bike, and a wood-burning stove — to enable a self-reliant life. He closed his bank accounts and committed himself to relying instead on ingenuity, nature, human generosity, and barter.

One of the deepest lessons Boyle describes is a renewed trust in people;

Without money as an intermediary, he had to ask, trade, negotiate, share, and cooperate, which deepened local human connections. He found community support was often more reliable than any bank account.

Beyond the diary narrative, Boyle explores why money dominates modern life.

He argues that money alienates humans from nature, community, and meaning.

Money creates artificial #scarcity and competition, discouraging #cooperation and increasing #isolation.

A moneyless trial shows that many human needs are social and ecological rather than financial.

#Bitcoin

#Nostr

#Permaculture

#Grownostr

#Money

#Garden

I did a massive amount of firewood cutting last weekend. It was a lot. 2 households could go through multiple winters kinda thing once it gets split.

Well, it absolutely destroyed my back this week. I didn't feel it until Tuesday night though (now that I'm seasoning it seems pain takes a couple days to register, it's still exhausting in the moment but the real pain is delayed 🤷).

Anyway, I was basically bed ridden all day Wednesday with flu like body aches. Which is brutal because the brain is still yearning to produce. At one point the hyper active brain pings an old memory about Iceman, Wim Hof, cold shock therapy. So that afternoon I work up to a cold shower.

This was unlike any cold shower I've ever had before. My body fully accepted it, no convulsions, shivers, or rejection. It's like there was some instinctive piece of me that knew this was the path to betterment. As soon as I got out I started feeling small improvements.

Thursday was still only about half better. I tried a cold bath but it just didn't feel as cold or effective, but still noticed a small improvement.

Felt almost normal tonight and the cold shower was downright frigid.

This experience has made me a huge believer in cold therapy. Never along the way did I use any medications. Just rest, massage therapy, and ice, but I'm convinced that the cold showers provided the biggest benefit.

I don't understand why he's not orange pilled. It should be a no bassinet for him. I voted 3x for him as POTUS, though I voted for Massie last year.

Yep 💜

Just watched PBS Space Time's latest episode about fusion technology and saw that they used the 3D animation of the Central Solenoid that I made at ORNL in part of the video. 😃👍

Cool!

We?

#Bitcoin

Good morning!

Thinking of doing a zap.stream later today on using Obsidian . . .

⚡️🇺🇸📊 The US has more #Bitcoin holders than student debt holders.

Yay! Followed