Nothing makes you take a good look at your possessions and
consider embracing a minimalist lifestyle like contemplating a move. I don't
mean the basics, like furniture or clothing, but the things we all accumulate,
which seem to multiply exponentially the longer you stay at a given address.
I've been cleaning out closets, trying to decide what I really need, while
wondering how on earth I have so much when I thought I was already pretty much
a minimalist. Add my book habit to the mix and, um...I have an awful lot of stuff.
Book junkie tendencies aside, I think Mr. Carlin was on to
something, even before rampant consumerism became such a thing. Why do we allow
our possessions to define us? What is it that makes us think an amazing
personal library or prestigious art or music collection speaks to our character
or what kind of people we are?
Doing a thorough spring cleaning or a pre-moving junk toss
always reminds me of a book I purchased for the Tower stores many years ago,
called, Material World: A Global Family Portrait. If any of us were to pile all of our possessions around us
outside our homes, how would we feel? Proud? Surprised? Embarrassed? (And how
much would be tossed prior to the exercise?) Is this just what happens in a
consumer-driven culture? I read an article a few years ago, in which the author
advised spending money on experiences rather than things. Good advice that I've
tried to take that to heart, but looking at my possessions, and contemplating
packing every last one into a box, moving and then unpacking them, tells me I
have a ways to go. More experiences, fewer things. More living, less
collecting. As long as I have a place for my important stuff...
