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Daniel Shellabarger Suelo (Anth'84) lives in a cave and doesn't have a cent to his name. He's very happy.聽

Daniel Shellabarger Suelo (Anth鈥�84) had no intention of becoming anybody鈥檚 guru when he plunked his last $30 into a phone booth at a truck stop in Pennsylvania in 2000 and vowed to stop using money.

For 13 years, Suelo has lived in a cave outside Moab, Utah. He eats food collected from dumpsters, wild roots and berries and yes, even the occasional slab of road kill. He uses household items and clothes tossed away by others. He also bathes daily and really isn鈥檛 doing any of this to show anybody up.

鈥淗e is as happy as anyone I know,鈥� says Damian Nash (RelSt鈥�86, MEdu鈥�88), Suelo鈥檚 roommate at CU-Boulder and a longtime Moab resident who teaches high school. 鈥淗e brings wisdom and peace and compassion, deep understanding wherever he goes.鈥澛�

Since becoming a media curiosity following a flurry of stories about him in 2009 and publication of The Man Who Quit Money by Mark Sundeen in 2012, Suelo has been a kind of human Rorschach test. He has attracted critics who say he鈥檚 just a leech and uses money indirectly, as well as pilgrims who want to learn more about his critique of modern debt-driven society.

鈥淧eople get emotional,鈥� says Suelo, speaking by phone from his parents鈥� home in Fruita, Colo. 鈥淚 think they feel I鈥檓 judging their lifestyle by the mere fact that I am living this way. I鈥檓 not.鈥�

Born Daniel Shellabarger, he changed his last name to the Spanish word for 鈥済round.鈥� Suelo points out that all people live within a system of nature that鈥檚 larger than any economic system. Think of his role 鈥� in both systems 鈥� as a 鈥渄etritavore,鈥� just another organism聽contributing to nature鈥檚 system of breakdown and decomposition. He doesn鈥檛 pretend that everyone can live like he does, though he strongly believes we should all live much simpler lives.

鈥淧eople project all kinds of things onto him, their own insecurities and guilt,鈥� Nash says.

Suelo鈥檚 decisions have made him one of the most salient 鈥� and radical 鈥� voices in the 鈥渕inimalist鈥� movement that has gained traction since the 2008 global economic crash when an estimated $13 trillion 鈥渄isappeared.鈥澛�

More than anything else, Suelo鈥檚 life today is the product of a long and continuing spiritual journey. Born in Arvada, Colo., into a fundamentalist Christian family, he was raised on Colorado鈥檚 Western Slope. He says college in Boulder opened his eyes, and he particularly credits former anthropology professor Dav铆d Carrasco, who is a professor today at the Harvard Divinity School.

鈥淚 grew up very sheltered, but [Carrasco] really challenged me,鈥� Suelo recalls. 鈥淗e was very concerned about Native American culture and religion鈥� I was a very serious Christian, and it was really hard for me to think about what our culture had done to their culture and other cultures around the world.鈥�

After graduating he served in the Peace Corps in Ecuador, worked in women鈥檚 shelters, lived in Buddhist monasteries in Asia and learned about the world鈥檚 religions before sensing the material world was impeding his spiritual growth. He realized a creeping depression he was experiencing derived from his stress over financially being able to hold on to his stuff.聽

What if we started having dinner together and got to know our neighbors? You can really see how absurd our system is when you ask questions like that.

鈥淪eek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you,鈥� Suelo told the The Denver Post in 2009, citing the Gospel of Matthew. 鈥淒id I really believe that? The only way to know is to try it. I want to be able to talk from my heart and live it, too.鈥澛�

Despite his critics, many people see his life as a beacon for a world drowning in materialism.

鈥淗e found a common thread in all the world鈥檚 religious teachers, almost all of whom talk about getting rid of your possessions,鈥� says Joshua Becker, an Arizona pastor and author of the Becoming Minimalist blog.

Suelo is quick to emphasize that he doesn鈥檛 have all the answers 鈥� or even any answers for anyone except himself 鈥� and recognizes that not everyone can or should decide to live in a cave and foreswear the use of money.

But he continually promotes and explores new ways of living in his blog, Moneyless World. He uses computers at public libraries to access the Internet.聽

In contemporary America, the answer isn鈥檛 for everyone to live in a cave or eat edible food thrown out every day. Instead, Suelo suggests we might simply become more community-oriented.

鈥淗ow many lawnmowers do we need?鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat if there was one in the neighborhood and everyone shared it? What if we started growing food on our lawns? What if we started having dinner together and got to know our neighbors? You can really see how absurd our system is when you ask questions like that.鈥�

Photography by Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post聽