Can you live without pets, kids or relationships?

13

Replies

  • jessicaclairel
    jessicaclairel Posts: 54
    I could live without pets, kids, or relationships. But I don't want to think about living without my cat just yet. He's only five, after all.
  • GiGiBeans
    GiGiBeans Posts: 1,062 Member
    Maybe but I wouldn't want to. I enjoy intimacy.
  • MyM0wM0w
    MyM0wM0w Posts: 2,008 Member
    No kid, no relationship.

    Two pets and no, I doubt I'd do well without their company.
  • AmyMgetsfit
    AmyMgetsfit Posts: 636 Member
    Pets, don't need, don't have any at the moment.
    kids, I have kids and am glad I have them
    relationships, I am happily married, but if I found myself single/widowed, I would not want another relationship. I have been married since I was 21, I would just want to be on my own. Sole possessor of the remote.
  • stephaniemejia1671
    stephaniemejia1671 Posts: 482 Member
    Crap. *Rock and hard place* ... no. I would need people in my life in some form.
  • BaileyP3
    BaileyP3 Posts: 151 Member
    Pets? Don't need them.

    Relationships? Meh. It's over rated. No one I know is actually happy. It's like more of a manufactured happiness/tolerance.

    Kids? Theoretically, I could live without them. However, I have 3 of them. So, it's impossible to know for sure.

    I often think the ideal situation for my is to move far away up into the hills alone. I just really enjoy solitude more than normal people. I know people that can't even stay alone on their house for an afternoon without trying to find someone to play with. That is just so odd to me.


    I like your ideal situation.. I agree that most people are way too dependent. This is why I wanna be a pilot. I get to work for 6 months flying around the world, and then I take a few months break where I can relax and be with someone for a little while, then I'm off again on my own :)

    Hubby, cocker spaniel and I would gladly become lighthouse keepers :-)) We like our solitude and give each other tons of space. Sun/Tues/Thurs evenings we go to 'separate corners' and each enjoy our alone time. Dog decides who she wants to be with :-)))
    We spend the other evenings together and never run out of things to talk about :-))

    I applaud parents, don't know how they thrive personally with such busy schedules.
  • kaytiecakes
    kaytiecakes Posts: 79 Member
    I need relationships of all sorts but I think having children would make me absolutely miserable. Furry pets shed and that grosses me out, so I'll keep my goldfish and clean furniture, thanks.
  • My0WNinspiration
    My0WNinspiration Posts: 1,146 Member
    All I need is my dog.
  • sbussert
    sbussert Posts: 72 Member
    For myself, I would feel a bit of emptiness without the dogs, wife and kids, although they all can be a real pain in the butt sometimes - but I am probably a pain in their's too from time to time. We are a communal species. We live together because that how we were designed. I'm ok with that, and although I do like "My Time" every now and then, it makes my life better to have friends and family to share it with.
  • kayemme
    kayemme Posts: 1,782 Member
    You can enjoy being with someone as long as it lasts without being possessive or turning it into a "relationship"

    I really hate that word. It makes me cringe.

    maybe you just need to redefine the word or speak more clearly about your intentions.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    Yes I do. But that would require a certain degree of spiritual maturity.

    I agree that it takes a special type of person. Maturity is key. We're born and raised depending on other people, but not everyone grows out of it.

    What the heck are you talking about? Nobody 'grows' out of it. I have just been reading a book called 'Lone Survivors." It is about human evolution, and, according to the author, it is rather amazing how much of our evolution has been dependent on other people and our relationships and interactions. Language, for example. Our language abilities have become so highly developed because cooperating and interacting is so crucial. Even our eyes. Dogs and humans are the only mammals that have a large amount of visible white sclera. That is so others can follow where we are looking. The result is: We are hard-wired to be part of a group and in mutually-dependent relationships.
    There is just no way around it.
  • maexma
    maexma Posts: 1
    I live like that now... BUT it sucks :-( Being on a foreign country and much younger than most of my colleagues has made the whole getting a social life pretty hard. Looking forward for a new place, or returning home. I have grown attached to my car and tv and somehow doesn't feel all that healthy :-)
  • ruperthumphrey
    ruperthumphrey Posts: 195 Member
    I need my cats and dogs! Without a doubt.....
    They keep me happy and crazy!
  • Gwen_B
    Gwen_B Posts: 1,018 Member
    No, I wouldn't have a life without them!!
  • RobfromLakewood
    RobfromLakewood Posts: 684
    Technically, we only need food, water, medical care, shelter and sanitation to live (assuming we're on Earth and the oxygen is plentiful), but not the life I would want. I think like much of the human experience, we all live on a different spectrum of these 'needs'. I also think at different times, we fall at different spots. For me:

    Pets--grew up with them, went some time without them, but now that Rusty and Ranger in my life, i would desoise not having them with me. They bring me great joy.

    Kids--circumstances seem to have made a life I wouldn't have expected for myself, childless. My wife and I are still open to it, but her at 30 is more enthusiastic of the idea than I am at 46. I swear I am hitting the 1st guy in the head with my cane who asks which one is my grandchild at my kids high school graduation.

    Relationships--Not even close to the life i want, be it friends, family or romantic (in my case wife). I don't live my life just to live MY life, but to live within lives and have lives lived within mine.
  • trophywife24
    trophywife24 Posts: 1,472 Member
    I could not, no. My kids, marriage, and relationships with other people are very much a part of what makes me 'me'. Some people can, sure. I don't get it but I don't have to.
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
    I live alone and enjoy my quite time.
  • Healthy_fresh_start
    Healthy_fresh_start Posts: 183 Member
    Can I live without my boys? NO. not a chance!!! hate every second im at work purely for that reason!!

    BUT a hours soak in a lovely hot bath knowing that they cant come in, splash, scream and shout. that i couldnt live without that some times too!!!

    before i had kids i was a travelling holiday rep, me, my passport and a one way ticket to the next party town!! i was as happy as a pig in shhhh. but i guess some things are worth more than others :D
  • Flixie00
    Flixie00 Posts: 1,195 Member
    I am single, live alone, never wanted kids, my parents live in another country and we don't have much contact, and I never replaced my cat when he died 4 years ago.

    I do have relationships with people (friends and work colleagues), and I am perfectly happy with my life. I do get a bit annoyed when people who don't really know me get all judgy about my lifestyle and mark me down as lonely, I am not.
  • sPaRkLiNgLYFE
    sPaRkLiNgLYFE Posts: 609
    nope, i dont think humans are designed to be alone, a newborn baby will die without human contact, and an adult will go crazy if left in total isolation for too long.
  • sissiluv
    sissiluv Posts: 2,205 Member
    Technically, we only need food, water, medical care, shelter and sanitation to live (assuming we're on Earth and the oxygen is plentiful), but not the life I would want. I think like much of the human experience, we all live on a different spectrum of these 'needs'. I also think at different times, we fall at different spots. For me:

    Not necessarily. In order to function in a way society deems 'appropriate', or even to be able to speak, we need human interaction as we grow and mature to learn. http://bostonreview.net/BR31.4/saxe.php
    After the learning process has ended however, I imagine that living the life of a hermit would both be easier and less damaging yes.

    Edit: Rather I meant once the formulative years had ended, not the learning process!
  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
    I've always been an introvert and spend most of my time alone and I'm content with it. I've never in my life been without a dog, though, and never want to be.

    I agree with you about trying to find that perfect situation where you're dating someone and enjoying their company, but there are no claims of possession or "Where's this going?" or "What did you do last night?" any of that needy controlling crap.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
    Childless, so yes.

    Relationshipless? Not sure. Been in relationships for 15 years, no real periods of being single in between.

    Pets? No. I couldn't. I need tiny furry things in my life as much as I need air.
  • jbutterflye
    jbutterflye Posts: 1,914 Member
    As the Rolling Stones sang, "You can't always get what you want but if you try sometimes well you might find you get what you need". I figure if I need it, it shows up in my life. If I don't, it leaves, or doesn't show up. I trust that life will always put me in the right circumstance to experience exactly what I need, and I've learned that sticky attachment only leads to pain and suffering. We can love without attachment (of the unhealthy kind, the kind where we're codependent). Maybe it's because I've had so many losses in my life that I've disovered that yes I can live without anyone or anything in particular, and that my happiness doesn't depend on anything outside myself.
  • SportyLadyPhotographer
    SportyLadyPhotographer Posts: 173
    Live without pets - no!!! *crazy cat lady*
    haha me too, couldnt live without my cat!!
  • JewelsinBigD
    JewelsinBigD Posts: 661 Member
    Just chilling by yourself without feeling lonely or lacking anything? Without possessing anyone or being possessed.. just being happy with being alive and doing the things you like without needing anything else :smile:

    So you have your MFP friends, maybe Facebook friends? It is not solitude when you are blogging or chatting...is it the physical presence of another person that you can only take in limited doses? What do you do with your time?
  • Cindy873
    Cindy873 Posts: 1,165
    Pets? Yes
    Kids? No
    Relationships? Probably, though I prefer being in one
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    I was happy being single back in the day. I didn't *need* anything or anyone. I really did want kids and found an amazing woman I could see spending the rest of my life with and sharing my family dream. As long as the Lord and life let me keep them, I don't want it any other way.
  • fishsticks913
    fishsticks913 Posts: 123 Member
    I would love to be able to say yes.... but nope.

    Love my kiddo to death... cant imagine my life with out him. I do like when he goes to his dads.... gives me time for me and gives them the bonding time that a father and son need. But I miss the heck out of him from the minute he walks out the door.

    Pets... ummm nope. Had an animal all my life. My cat is a lot like me... if I need her around she is right next to me, but also senses when I don't want anyone around and she goes and hides.

    Relationship.... that's a hard one. I wish I could say I am not "dependent" on someone being around, but I am. I like the contact (not always the physical)...but the contact with someone else. I don't like being alone.. lets my mind wander too much.
  • Cp731
    Cp731 Posts: 3,195 Member
    HELL NO. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't trade my kitty for a dog~TODAY, I love my Kid, but sometimes wish I had a Nanny, and I would give my right arm too be in a special relationship, but mainly for the sex. lol

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