This could be a thread about how our material possessions must make us appear gluttonous and obscenely wealthy to the average desert nomad, but it's not. I do think about this once in a while, but mostly I just feel sometimes like having lots of stuff kind of weighs me down, like a figurative ball-and-chain.
The thing is, I like my stuff, but sometimes I look back with nostalgia to the day I moved out of my mother's house at 18-years old, and I fit everything I owned into my Fiat. Of course, as soon as I moved into my apartment, I realized I needed dishes, a mop, a toaster, etc., etc... However, I felt like I had everything I needed (until I got my Triumph, but that's another story).
I look around my house sometimes and, as a mind experiment I imagine what I could let go of if I lived on a sailboat, or in a motorhome, or even a campground. It's not easy. If I really give it some serious thought, I can arrive at a set of criteria to test whether I really "need" something or not: Do I use it? Will I use it? Does it have sentimental value? Would the sentiment be enough without the thing that represents it? Would I miss it if I didn't have it? Does it improve my quality of life? What does stuff even have to do with quality of life? Etc...
I've known a few people who have done these exact things; they sold their homes and sold or gave away absolutely everything they owned to live simply—one couple from a 3-story Victorian house to a sailboat. If it didn't fit on the boat, they didn't need it.
Right now, I'm looking at the USB hub on my desk that looks like a Triumph 650 engine and makes an engine sound when you crank the little kick-starter. You've probably seen one of these. Well, I have one. It's amusing, but I don't need the stupid thing, and it just sits there. That is just one of literally thousands of things I have that range from objets-d'art to furniture to tools to books and CDs, to gadgets, and on and on...
Do you ever feel like you're piled up with more possessions than you need? Do you sometimes crave a simpler existence? Do you already live simply and wouldn't have it any other way? I know some of you will answer that you like your stuff and want more, which I'm not being critical of. I'm just wondering who else besides me sometimes feels like whittling down, and to what extent. Where would you draw the line between keeping and jettisoning something?
The thing is, I like my stuff, but sometimes I look back with nostalgia to the day I moved out of my mother's house at 18-years old, and I fit everything I owned into my Fiat. Of course, as soon as I moved into my apartment, I realized I needed dishes, a mop, a toaster, etc., etc... However, I felt like I had everything I needed (until I got my Triumph, but that's another story).
I look around my house sometimes and, as a mind experiment I imagine what I could let go of if I lived on a sailboat, or in a motorhome, or even a campground. It's not easy. If I really give it some serious thought, I can arrive at a set of criteria to test whether I really "need" something or not: Do I use it? Will I use it? Does it have sentimental value? Would the sentiment be enough without the thing that represents it? Would I miss it if I didn't have it? Does it improve my quality of life? What does stuff even have to do with quality of life? Etc...
I've known a few people who have done these exact things; they sold their homes and sold or gave away absolutely everything they owned to live simply—one couple from a 3-story Victorian house to a sailboat. If it didn't fit on the boat, they didn't need it.
Right now, I'm looking at the USB hub on my desk that looks like a Triumph 650 engine and makes an engine sound when you crank the little kick-starter. You've probably seen one of these. Well, I have one. It's amusing, but I don't need the stupid thing, and it just sits there. That is just one of literally thousands of things I have that range from objets-d'art to furniture to tools to books and CDs, to gadgets, and on and on...
Do you ever feel like you're piled up with more possessions than you need? Do you sometimes crave a simpler existence? Do you already live simply and wouldn't have it any other way? I know some of you will answer that you like your stuff and want more, which I'm not being critical of. I'm just wondering who else besides me sometimes feels like whittling down, and to what extent. Where would you draw the line between keeping and jettisoning something?