Just a little late night ponderings…
I read quite a few blogs and books and websites and many of them talk about simplicity and simple living. I’m very interested in it all, especially some of these people that limit their worldly processions down to 100 or 75 or 50 items. I admire them but also I am a bit concerned that some are just loosing sight though, of what is a life. A life accumluates things. Personal things and just things. How am I to decide with family thing to be rid of. My great grandfather’s fiddle? The old drippy painted tiger from my childhood living room wall? How about the numerous journals and scrapbooks and pictures? It always surprises me when I look at the lists of these 100 item people… they contain very few family momentos. In fact, they always look rather bland and grey and boring. It’s so utilitarian. Lacking in the color of life.
At one point, I sat down and started to make a list of the things that I would NEED to live. And of course, it had things like the old banjo, and of course, my computer. I suppose a car doesn’t count, nor your home, but everything else, well, that all counts. Of course, at first, my list was all nice and neat, like a Bible and hygiene items… But even with my clothes, there was way more than 100 items. Easily. Even when I grouped things, like oh, CDS or craft things or even canning jars… that seemed to sound like it was cheating in a way. After all, you vaguely group all sorts of things together. Clothes, crafts, music, kitchen, hygiene, books, shoes, outer gear, yard tools, hardware and oh, personal items. There, 11 vague groupings that could easily be thousands of items! See what I mean?
So I gave up on that. Not that I wanted to turn back into the pack rat that I was at one point in my life, but forget this obsessive need to be so simple that life is a bit, well, boring. I would hate to have to cut back on my friends and family pictures on my dresser, or say, all the CDs that local bands have given me. I’ll admit, some of those I would listen to once or twice and then stash away. Nation acts they are not, but they are my friends and they mean a lot to me. Someday, I’d like to look back at those CDs and remember fondly the times and memories connected to them. I might not cherish that off note or slightly well, homemade recording, but I will remember the friendship and the effort and I don’t see how cutting these things out of my life will improve it.
Now, when it comes to drinking glasses, or pots and pans and odd leftover crafts and those clothes I’ll never wear even if I do get skinny? Those things DO need to be managed in one’s life. Those are the weeds of life that can strangle you. I believe that you need to weed those things often and without mercy.
But the personal things that make a life and come into our lives, those should be like the blooming flowers of your reason for being here. They are the beautiful and wonderful bits that are memories of your life. Sure, when you’re gone, they might not mean anything to your loved ones left behind. But they might, if you let them know why and what they mean.
And they might be some of your children’s most treasured items in their own life story.
Just a few thoughts….
By the way… that acorn is one that I picked up on a long quiet walk with my dog and I just thought it was delightful with it’s little cap intact and all. It makes me smile when I look at it and pick it up. I remember the nice spring day and the elder days of my old dog.
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