ULTRA MINIMALIST

            If you've never heard of Rob Greenfield, look him up.  He only had 25 million views on one of his videos.  He was only on national news a month ago for finishing his latest stunt:  going one full year eating only what he grew or foraged.  No grocery store.  No farmers' market. 

             We had the distinct pleasure over the weekend of hosting this unusual guy and what a treat it was.  To be sure, Rob is not judgmental.  He doesn't expect everyone to live his way, but as he said "someone needs to be extreme in order to stimulate the conversation."

             Indeed, imagine living without a bank account.  None.  The cash in your pocket is all you've got.  No credit card.  No driver's license and no car.  When I picked him up at the Charlottesville train station, everything he owned was in an overstuffed rucksack. 

             For the last two years he's lived in Florida in a self-built tiny house, 10 ft. X 10 ft., constructed entirely of second-hand materials.  Go ahead, I dare you.  Take  a tape measure out and see what 10 ft. X 10 ft. looks like in the room where you're reading this post.  He admitted it was a bit small, but only because he needed storage for all his food. 

             When he had plenty, he had to stockpile.  He even had a freezer in there because most of his protein came from road kill.  And after all, when the car strikes, you need to scavenge.  Carbohydrates were easy; protein was more difficult.  For a month he ate primarily sweet potatoes--4 pounds a day.  He felt best the month he lived on venison.

             He's 33 and single and is a wealth of minimalist information.  He's tried veganism for 2 years until his body rebelled and he learned how important animals are to the functioning of the environment.  Throughout the weekend, his refrain was this:  "people need to know it's not all black and white."  Ranchers hate environmentalists, and environmentalists black ball ranchers.  We need to abolish animal agriculture.  You know the drill.

             But things are far more complex than political corners and group-think would have us believe, he said.  He's done a couple of reality TV shows with Discovery and found what we've found after being courted by several of these kinds of outfits:  ain't nothin' about it real.  It's all contrived fakery and outright lies, so don't watch these stupid things.

            Many people would call me a minimalist.  No TV, don't drink coffee, have no desire for fashion.  But Rob runs circles around me, or just about anybody.  As we went out to the car for me to take him back  to the train station, he took along a 15-pound bag of venison he'd scavenged at our house.  He helped work them up after a hunt and eagerly anticipated having some good meat in his rucksack.  "Enough for 15 days at one pound a day," he quipped as we loaded the car.

             It's hard to imagine thinking that way, but it's refreshing.  Most of us don't give tomorrow's sustenance a second thought.  He does.  He's cooked on trains--that attracted some attention.  He likes to go barefoot as much as possible.  Is he weird?  Yes.  Is he delightful?  Yes.

             He is the kind of person who makes you think.  Deeply.  What an honor and privilege to have folks like this stop by and share their stories and their values.

             What could you change today that would move you toward minimalism?