Selling a life...

Today I was reading the Sydney Morning Herald, and I came across this story
about a man who is literally selling his life on Ebay. This includes his house, all his possessions, even his friends!

Ian Usher, who announced his auction plans two weeks ago, said he was "blown away" by the phenomenal response to his plight, but he was reluctant to close any deals before the auction commenced on June 22.
But, as he said in a phone interview, "everything has a price".
Usher, 44, whose marriage failed six years after he emigrated from Britain in 2001, will put his whole life under the hammer at a starting price of $1, including his $420,000 house just south of Perth's city centre, motorbike, car, job as a shop assistant in a rug store, friends and all of his material possessions.
After the auction Usher plans to leave with only the clothes on his back and catch the next flight to a yet-to-be-determined destination, where he will attempt to build a new life.

Apparently he has become quite famous because of it and even if he wanted to, I doubt he'd be able to get out of it now given the huge publicity he has garnered.

Although he has been congratulated, and even been asked for photographs, he also has had his fair share of negative publicity, with some saying he is just attention seeking.

But I can't help admiring him. He does have a very good life (materially at least). He lives in Perth, WA and owns a beautiful house with a great deal of creature comforts. And yet he is willing to give it all up to start a new life.

Here is a pic of the inside of his house, to show he's quite well off:



He is even offering for someone to buy his old job - with his previous employers offering a two-week trial period for "the new owner of my life".

His friends are also offering to take the winner of the auction under their wing.

Yes, somehow, Ian's got us to agree to this. But then again, we're quite used to his unusual ideas so, why not this one! Who are we? A bunch of people from all walks of life and living in various suburbs in Perth. Some of us are born in Australia, some of us migrated to Perth a few years ago. Some of us have children, some have followed a different path. And I suppose, this is where we come in. Rightly or not, we expect the buyer(s) to come from oversea or over East and likely to know very little of Perth. And we know how it is. We've either been thru the same process or know someone who did. It's Australia!

...Of course, we're sure the person or family who buy this life will make friends of their own, the West Australians are a very relaxed and friendly bunch.

And who knows, we might not get along at all but the offer is there...

We're not about to loose a friend, we're looking forward to making new ones.

Essentially, the winner of the auction will take over this guy’s life.

It’s an interesting concept, and one I give him all the praise for doing.

But it has made me realize how much we are bound by stuff, just by looking at his pictures on his website A life 4 sale


This man has a lot of stuff, and good stuff, but it hasn’t made him happy. He’s ready to give it all up to start again.

I guess I never want to be bound by stuff in my life. I don’t want to be burdened by wanting a nice house or a great surround sound system or a spa. All I want to do is live my life with no regrets, laugh every day and learn about the world.

Why should we be bound by the great “dreams” society says we should work towards? Home ownership, a nuclear family, a dog and two cars? Sure, it’s comfortable, but is it the right life to lead for everybody?

Maybe I’m young and too ideological but I just don’t want that. I know it’s stupid not to want to buy a house or not wanting a traditional family but I can’t help feeling I want something more from life. Of course, I’m not looking down on people who will end up doing this, I’m just saying it’s not for me.

I just can’t justify working my whole life just so I can acquire more stuff.