broke is okay?

My tagline. You know you love it.

In a time when so many people are trying to be rich, I find it to be my civic duty to advocate the freedom and joy associated with being "broke." But what does it mean really?

You can take the direct route and say "destitution," or "utter and complete lack of funds," maybe even "fuckt." But you know it's more than that.

"broke" is a state of mind (bear with me). The ascetics of religions from Hinduism to Buddhism propound the renouncement of all things physical as the road to enlightenment. That means taking your money, car, house, responsibility, comic book collection, fancy shoes, hats, jewelry, bags, bikes, headbands, gym memberships, credit cards, beds, etc.. and leaving them behind for some dumb shmoe to come along and be unlucky enough to be further burdened with.

But you will be free.

When you have nothing, then nothing can be taken from you.

The fear and anxiety of daily life will disappear into the ether. You may find yourself gleefully skipping down a sidewalk downtown laughing about how little broken glass is around to slice up your tootsies. You may find yourself sleeping under a canopy of stars and smog, snuggling in the warmth of the finest free newspapers you could scrounge that day. You may find yourself begging for food from people who don't recognize that you made a conscious choice to renounce the greedy race for fame and fortune in favor of a simpler life, and who in effect avoid your eyes and play deaf to your earnest requests at tummy-filling kinship.

But "broke" does not necessarily have to mean "bum."

I propose a different take on this philosophy of "renouncement." It's a revision that advocates gracious detachment and at the same time wholehearted investment in every instant and every thing.

Confused? Sweet! Let's get loopy!

I want you to love everything you have. Because, really, if you have the luxury to be sitting around reading a blog on a computer, then you probably have air conditioning, running water, yummy food, access to healthcare, drugs, socks, education, mosquito repellant, clean water and any number of sweet widgets and humdoodlers.

You're. Very. Fucking. Lucky.

To be able to renounce everything you have is a luxury that many people would look at as ludicrous. I mean, shit. We've got it pretty damn good. We can even voice our complaints on a host of forums no matter how frivolous and unrefined. We don't get spanked in public for spitting gum on the sidewalk like they do in Indonesia. I don't think our sidewalks would still be walkable if they weren't held together by the amazing galaxies of gum spots that speckle their surfaces.

You can get an education, then a job, and then you can buy shit. A whole technological menagerie of dumb shit.

It's the American dream,
but it's been exploited so that you're doing everything you do
mainly just so you can buy shit.
but not just regular life shit. I’m talking bigger, better,
self-affirming, throw in the face of your neighbor, royalty shit.

and really who needs it?
it's just more shit.

The problem lies in our tendency to hide behind our troves of goodies. To guard our favorite things from being stolen, and to prosecute people who have taken or try to take them. Why? Because we work hard for our money which we then spend on these silly things which we think will make our hard work and dead hours in offices worth the sacrifice. But maybe too many of us are working jobs that we don't even like in order to fuel our fancies. Maybe if you took a job that earned you a little less money but you actually found fulfilling, you wouldn't have a need for so many trivial trinkets. Maybe you should be spending more time with your family and friends anyway.

What the hell are we all so afraid of?
(besides monsters)

I recognize the reality that there are also many Americans who have the "privilege" to work long hours at jobs they may not exactly love because they have kids to feed. They spend every minute of their life to support their families. These people are "broke" already. But I think they're broke in the most beautiful way possible.

I'm just sayin'. Maybe you shouldn't be so attached to all that junk you have littering your living space.

Look around you. What do you really need to live? You can probably count those necessities out and still have a few fingers left over to tickle your nephew.

So let's try something. Let's be reallyreallyreally really thankful for all the great shit we have, but also look forward to maybe being able to give it away to the first person who says, "Wow! That's a really great thingapooper." And let's also stop buying more shit that's just gonna keep us further cooped up in our domiciles. Let's be practical about our finances and save money for monsoon season (it might be right around the corner the way the economy is teetering at the moment.).

Basically, what I'm sayin’ is just stop tryin’ to be "rich." "Rich" is a falsity, a flying dutchman. You will never find happiness or feel complete by means of material wealth. Find a way you can live your life in which you take care of yourself and those who are important to you. Join a community or help build one.

And we can all be broke together…