STUFFING OUR FEELINGS?

Stuff –even the word sounds like something we could all do without.  I sometimes think my time on earth has consisted mainly of acquiring, organizing, transporting, storing, and attempting to rid myself of stuff.  I do not know why Americans tend to over consume everything – food, drugs, alcohol, toys, and shopping for more and more. I am guilty!  I continue to pay for the only-in-America inevitable storage unit, purchasing the contents a hundred times over value with my monthly payments for years. Our parents’ excuse was weathering the Great Depression with a fear of losing everything again.  But what is today’s excuse while living in a disposable world of affordable mass production?

 Why are we saving this crap while continuing to buy more and more?  Guess what?  Our kids don’t want our family antiques and sentimental hand me downs.   And all of those photo-filled shoe boxes and fancy framed pictures?  You are better off spending the money to have them scanned into their IPhones.  And just to keep it honest, how many times have you stopped to look at all those photos?  --usually when we are transferring pics to a better container or hopelessly searching for a Thanksgiving photo when our child was dressed as a Pilgrim.  Don’t get me started on the empty scrapbooks in storage just waiting to be filled. Give it up!  It’s not worth your time or money!!! 

 

In our day (God, I hate hearing myself use that term), ‘shopping’ was a form of recreation and socializing. I now rue the time I wasted on such an unfulfilling pastime. Our culture often normalized activities that now seem harmful to a healthy life and mind – cigarette smoking, daily martinis, food additives, pill popping, and compulsive shopping.  All are ultimately harmful, while providing little return on investment.  Oh how I wish I had spent those wasted hours practicing the piano, learning to paint, tango dancing, or long distance bicycling.  Thankfully, there appears to be a positive shift in today’s world from mindless consumption to a more mindful presence of quality over quantity. 

  

During Thanksgiving, I helped my son empty out the storage unit he has held for ten years filled with things I mistakenly believed he would one day want and enjoy.  While one man’s junk is often another man’s treasure (which is why we should always recycle to those in need),  everything we treasure is not held in the same esteem by the loved ones we bestow upon.  I now realize that I had put an unfair burden on my son, by unknowingly making him feel guilty if he didn’t want my prized possessions. Admittedly, there was momentary separation anxiety while letting go of the past as we donated everything to a women’s shelter, but the cleansing pleasure was nurturing.  I realized that the life of an item ended with the enjoyment it had given me. Suddenly, I felt unburdened by the need to acquire and heap things on my son as a demonstration of my love and worth.

The world is changing in that young people are more conscious of protecting the world from over consumption and the burden of non-disposable trash, more desirous of experiences over acquisitions, and more cognizant that stuff will never satisfy or fill their hearts.  Christmas is a season of giving – may we give to the earth by consuming less, give away two things for every one we buy, and give of ourselves as the most important gift to others.