Amassing more and more stuff.
We have more than we need. Most of us do. I am not proud of this and constantly look for ways to make do with less, have more to give, and still I have too much. Years ago, I moved around a lot. With each move, I could assess all of my belongings, and keep only what I needed. This seems harder with each move, with each year. When I was in my early twenties, I moved by Grey Hound bus to Santa Fe with a suit case. That was enough back then. That was twenty years ago. Next thing I knew, I had more than I could fit in the trunk of my old Dodge Dart. When I left New Mexico, I had to take the back seats out of my car to fit all my possessions, my two dogs, and my pregnant belly. I upgraded to an old Dodge van to make my move to California, and packed it full. And then in moving to Colorado, I rented a U-Haul. Always more and more and more, even in my supposed simple ways. How much of this is necessary? How much of what I moved did I really need?
Could I limit myself to a suitcase now? I’m afraid to think of how many suitcases I’d need to hoard all that “means so much to me,” or that ”I just can’t live without.” And yet, in reality, what do I need? My boys, my dog, my cats, my horses. These things don’t fit in a suitcase, I know.
I try to justify my abundance knowing that I have less than many in our Western world. No TV, no clothes dryer, no dish washer, no telephone, no hair dryer… But I look around my home and know there is still too much. In the past I have lived quite comfortably without electricity, running water, hot water heater, a gas oven, two sets of plates, and matching chairs… now look at all this.
There is a part of me that would like to simplify it all back down to one suitcase again. I’d like to keep the boys, dog, cats, and horses… but “stuff” need not be more than a suitcase full.
What really matters? I wonder what I’d take…
Needless to say, we have so much “stuff.” I’m more apt to throw things out, whereas Don likes to hang on to things we may need one day. But we managed to thin out some thngs before our move – because really, moving is the only time you ever touch everything you own, all within a few days.