Are you a saver or hoarder? If you have been reading my blogs, you will likely guess that I am not just talking about saving physical items. Although that is my main spin because it can cause us grief of its own.
Our houses, garages, outbuildings and whatever else we can overload can really get full of stuff. It seems there are a whole lot more storage facilities dotting the landscapes than there used to be, too. On the whole, I think most of us have a lot of stuff. Clothes, shoes, trinkets, dishes, TV’s, fishing rods, candles, alligator bags – you get the point. (You notice I did not put books in the line-up as you can never have too many books.)
How many plates or purses do we need? Or shoes – well, don’t we need a different color pair for each different color outfit? (Isn’t that what black or white shoes are for?) Are you enthusiastic about buying tools or writing implements or horses or whatever and can’t leave your favorite section of a store until there’s something in your cart? What do you have tons of repeats of? It’s a collection? That’s nice. If they are all different styles or ages, maybe.
In our great grandparents’ day, the average person was lucky to have a half a dozen changes of clothes. A couple sets for work or play and one or two “Sunday best” for church, Saturday dances, or visiting. Part of today’s standard of keeping “stuff” is due to the fact that we are able to acquire a lot more now. Between availability and finances, we can get so much more. The problem is we tend to hold on to a lot of it – until we HAVE to let go of some of it. We need to make space for new stuff, or we are moving and there’s not enough room in the truck, or we must downsize. There is the other situation as well: we are getting up in years and we start realizing the scads of stuff we have accumulated will be left behind for our kids/family/friends to have to deal with if we don’t do it. Whatever the reason, the time comes to “clean house.”
We may also hang on to stuff – or people – because of a deep need inside of us (thinking people or things will give us happiness, security, and/or give meaning to our existence), so this train of behavior follows in our hearts and minds as well. Except we really should try to deal with these kinds of issues early on, rather than force our family, friends, enemies, or strangers to deal with our persnickety or negative attitudes and issues throughout our lives. One thing I have learned is that when we hang on to our anger, unforgiveness, hate, and bad memories – the things that clutter our hearts or minds – it hurts us more than it hurts others. We are the ones who are stressed out or burdened with emotions that tear us apart. We cannot change what is past. Not our behavior or someone else’s; why hang on to what only hurts us? Let’s let go of the excess – the unnecessary, burdening “stuff” – meditate or kick it out of our minds and think about the good stuff, thus letting our hearts be free to be filled with love, openness and happiness. We ourselves are the key to our happiness; no one or thing else.
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