I'm thinking this morning of people I know who have so many material things they actually rent a storage unit to house the overflow. My opinion is if you have more than you need give it away or at least sell the stuff. I am also thinking of the young who are given every electronic thingamabob that exists. It makes me wonder just what are the parents trying to buy. It's good for kids, especially these days, to experience want.
Having an overflow of stuff reminds me of when we cleaned out my mother's apartment after her death. I have never seen so much stuff crammed into such a small space.When I returned home the first thing I did was clean out my closets and drawers. My thought was, when I die I don't want people to have to go through what I have left behind. I still periodically repeat this chore.
For a writer this isn't always an easy task. The question, what might I need sometime in the future, is always present. I have to be in the right mood to make any progress. Like yesterday my guidance was screaming- dump it! So I did! I lost a lot of weight by tossing out things I had already lived through.
I am intrigued by people who live in those tiny houses. There is very little storage space in them and I am not sure that I could do that, although it could be an option some day. How much stuff does one need to be happy anyway? I have a friend, who for several years, lived in a small trailer pulled by her car. Could I do that? I'm not sure.
All these thoughts about overflow reminded me of another poem I wrote in 2001. Here it is
Greed
When you ask for more than you really need
You are asking to be taught a lesson in greed.
You might be given exactly what you ask
To teach you aren't ready to handle the task.
If what you want is only for you
And not about helping others too
God could consider your request too vain
And insist it's rephrased to include His name.
When power and wealth and material things
Become more important than human beings
Perhaps it is time to take a break from greed
Taking time to reflect on what you really need.
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It's interesting living in 100 (10 feet by 10 feet) square feet or less, Barbara - the things that matter are really all one needs and when there's no space for anything other than what one needs, it becomes very apparent very quickly exactly what one needs. That sounded kind of like a conundrum, didn't it?
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to describe to someone who hasn't "lost" everything what "losing everything" is like but I can honestly say this: the important things aren't things at all.
Thanks for a great post, my friend!
I'm always thankful for your feedback Lois! I try to keep in mind that when we leave this place called earth the only things we will be taking with us are inside.
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