[Elana05]

I'm not sure what to call this. But I was wondering if anyone could relate to this? I sometimes get the feeling like I want to run away and have as small a life as possible -- tiny apartment, limited relationships etc. I feel like if I could do this, maybe life would be more tolerable. I call it bare-sustenance living. Maybe I could make enough to put a little money aside, but all I would need is a few pieces of furniture and a TV. Sometimes I feel like life itself is too much. Like there is so much going on and I can't handle it all. Even loving my partner as very much as I do, sometimes it feels like a lie that i can be in this relationship. I worry that I am a burden. I guess what I wonder is if I can handle it - I wonder if I would be better off with this small-living. Taking up as little space as possible in a tiny little non-descript apartment sort of hidden from the world. I even find myself day dreaming about how I could make it cozy. How maybe then I would feel safe? I don't know of more than that feels too overwhelming, or if I feel like I don't deserve more than that... I guess lastly, it just kind of feels like I was raised to "make due" on my own, and if I am not "making due" by myself, then I don't know quite how to function.

[Rohag]

Yes. People can relate. Google searches:

• Minimalist Living
• Minimalist Lifestyle

[Miss Laura]

Hey Elana,

I just feel like running away all the time.... don't know where to just somewhere that's not where I am at the moment

[googley]

(((((((((((((Elana)))))))))))))))

I totally understand this feeling. When I get depressed all I want to do is become a hermit so I don't have to interact with others. I would even want to go as far as living in a cabin in the mountains to get away from people.

[justfloating]

(((((((((((Elana)))))))))))))

I fantasize about just such a life all the time. I want a small, simple apartment all to myself (I currently live in a student residence with 500 other people or when I'm at home I've got my parents + 3 younger siblings + 3 grandparents I spend most of my time looking after) where I have just enough to be comfortable and keep everything small and simple. Just somewhere to settle in and disappear, I guess. I don't know what the answer is, whether we just want to escape our lives or our depression or whether there's genuinely something about this scenario that would be good for us. Is there anything you could do to simplify your life right now?

[online user]

Had a brother-in-law some years back who was working as a stockbroker in San Francisco. He got robbed and lost all his possessions. He changed his attitude about life after that--bought a houseboat in Sausilito and traded in his Porche for an old beat-up VW that he could park at the marina and wouldn't have to worry about loss if someone broke into it or bashed it up. He still had his pretty clothes, but hitched a ride to work at 5 AM (to match EST market opening) and lived pretty simply. Had just a few simple possessions as not much would fit in the houseboat. He was very happy there. He did die young--got a malignant, fast-growing brain tumor in his mid forties. But he lived life to the fullest. He said his happiest days were in the little houseboat.

My husband and I travel a lot and have a lot of friends all over the globe. But our happiest times are simple days at home. We do enjoy simple things with friends, though. I'm not sure if I would be into the "hermit" lifestyle. But simple, yes.