Recently, my youngest son and I moved into a new home. As I have been unpacking the many boxes that took me over a month to pack, searching for a proper place in our new home for their contents which has been somewhat frustrating, I got to thinking about "stuff"...collecting stuff, giving stuff away, selling stuff, buying more stuff so we can get rid of the old stuff, squeezing stuff into too small of spaces, buying new spaces to hold the stuff we can't squeeze in to and even renting spaces for the stuff we don't often need but can't part with, searching for more stuff that we think we need but really don't. Then, we die and leave all our stuff behind for someone else to sort through and get rid of, or find a place to display it or squeeze it into. So, at what point in our lives did our life become all about stuff??
I posted the above question on my personal Facebook account. It was nice to see that I'm not the only mild mannered, slightly obsessed, pack rat that holds on too tight to stuff with sentimental value, and plain old junk. I felt a little better about my situation in the regard that I have yet to resort to paying to store all my stuff. But I'm still pondering why I have held on so tight to material things, some things that belonged to people whom I have deeply loved that are no longer living. Perhaps, it's my attempt at keeping their spirit alive and well and tangible.
My post on Facebook and in this blog entry isn't to condemn or criticize, but to make us think a little about why we do what we do. Why we make sacrifices of what's most important in life in order to fill our surroundings with things that have little value in comparison. Why do we need so much stuff? Why does having stuff make us feel better about ourselves, our circumstances, our lives? The answers to these questions may be the same for us all, or may be different. Hopefully the answers will bring us some freedom.
I will close this somewhat untypical and quirky post with a video a friend on Facebook had shared in response to my "Stuff" post. It's perfect for this conversation, and it made me laugh! Warning: there is some profane language.
Peace and Be Well!
♥
Lisa