I am all for having cool stuff that enables a “better” life, but here’s what I know: every possession is a responsibility.
It costs us money and you have to find a place for it, dust it, check its oil, clean it, heat it, move it, protect it from harm, insure it, winterize it, take it for walks, water it, store it, inventory it, house it, maintain it, pay taxes on it, register it, and then sell it, auction it or throw it away.
Stuff eats up our bandwidth.
“Possessions delude the human heart into believing that they provide security and a worry-free existence, but in truth, they are the very cause of worry.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945
“Every increased possession loads us with new weariness.” – John Ruskin
Dietrich Bonhoeffer…one of my hero’s. Murdered by the Nazi’s because his faith required him to stand up against Hitler.
This post resonates with my attitude towards possessions. I can recall only a few things my parents ever gave me yet I vividly remember almost all trips and adventures we shared. I believe in sharing experience’s and this how I am as a friend and parent today.
So if people were/are so aware of the effect possessions have on ones already existing life why do we go out of our way to reach out, buy, acquire, and possess a beaming shiny object in the first place?
Our programmed sens of need is what invoked the new devil to show up in the living breathing quarters creating havoc.
We either man up and clean out the house and get rid of useless old junk that we allowed to just sit there for years even though we stopped finding joy in their existence a very long time ago,
or
we ignore our discomfort and keep the shelves, closets, garage, attic stuffed with emotional garbage and occasionally stack another beautiful fancy object on top of the already existing piles.
Start cleaning so you can start breathing.
The easier you breath the easier you will find the beautiful self hiding behind a dusty mirror.
Hey Larry…you will never believe it, but we had 5 FEET of water (insert joke here) in our remodeled basement last week, due to flash flooding in our area. We lost a lot of “stuff”, just like that. I thought of you often and thanked the Lord it wasn’t our entire house. We will be displaced about 2 weeks, I again, can’t imagine what you went through with your fire. Needless to say, a lot of “throwing and cleaning” is taking place. Stuff is stuff, it’s not as important as you think it was. Side note: Drywall is disgusting when it’s soaked floor to ceiling. I see TBF down the road…..
I agree with Dave Drescher:
My memories relate to places I went or time I spent with people, not things I own. The things are sometimes required to pursue the adventure, but the Adventure is the goal, the memory and the accomplishment.
There are now books about how to do “Death Cleaning”, which you should begin by age 65. Your kids don’t want your stuff now, and for sure they won’t want it after you are gone!
“You don’t own things, things own you”,
But my dog (Porter) says he is okay with me because I don’t require much bandwidth, his ROI is good!
I would not have agreed with this 20-25 years ago, but now that I am old (49 LOL), I can say that I find this absolutely true in my life.
I absolutely love this. It is true, while some possessions are necessary some are just wants. Recognizing the difference is hard for some people. I don’t want to be held hostage by the things in my life.
I believe that truer words of wisdom have not ever been said – I find only that I wish I had defined this boundary long before reaching this point in my life (67 and still operating my construction company of 47 years) and it wouldn’t be such a job to deal with all of the accumulated stuff over the next three year period!
So True…..ego gets in our way with this one
The more money I make the more stressed out I feel. It really can make a prision out of you. However, it feels great no to worry or count pennies when it comes to pay my bills
I resent the “take it for walks” line.
Dogs (or animals of any sort) are not possessions, nor are they burdens. They are a delightful addition to a family and studies have shown that they actually lengthen a person’s lifespan. My dog has saved me from suicide on more than one occasion. I don’t need any of the other crap in my house, but my dog is a necessity.