Purge… and suddenly you discover you have riches beyond your wildest dreams.
I’m sitting in our living room while just outside our windows, the garbage men are hauling and heaving our 30-some odd feet of curbside trash. Well, ok, I use the word “trash” loosely. As they say: “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Every four months, an event called “Bulk Trash Pick-Up” occurs in Historic Annapolis. It’s a popular custom in our neighborhood to go cruising the streets, rummaging through the piles of stuff people have pulled out of their houses – some perfectly good stuff laying patiently at the street, waiting to be driven off to some far-away landfill. More than a number of times we have come across what at the time, appeared to be some “good finds”. For instance, there was that time we discovered someone was throwing away four, perfectly good movie theatre seats – what a coup! Of course they went straight to the basement and stayed there until we finally hauled them out to the street for yet another round of “finders/keepers”.
This time we purged BIG. Our attic, closets and basements had been overrun with 21 plus years of accumulated stuff. So over the weekend our dear (and brave) friends helped us (very nearly) empty our basement in preparation for a mega-yard sale, strategically planned for just prior to bulk pick-up. Translation: NOTHING goes back into the house, it moves straight out to the street.
So, watching as our belongings are tossed mindlessly into the big, trash hearse for that final resting place, I feel a sense of lightness in letting go and at the same time a sense of sadness about how much we have contributed, over our lifetimes, to the ever growing landfills. We are a culture of “conspicuous consumers”, mindlessly buying, hoarding, then ultimately eliminating. Why do we need so much STUFF?? Why do we SAVE so much stuff? What are we afraid will happen when we no longer “own” it? This brings to mind something I heard recently: an original Native American custom portrays the richest family of the tribe as the one that owns the least. It is customary to give away your belongings so that others may prosper, with the belief that you will be held and supported. THAT is faith.
So, in light of our recent purging in preparation of selling our house and letting go of what we have called home for over 13 years, I am reminded, yet again, of what I have attached myself to and identified with. It is a life-long meditation on realizing that your “stuff” does not reflect who you are, nor will it sustain you for the long haul. You truly do have everything you need - right inside your own heart, and you will be held and supported no matter how difficult it feels to let go.
Sat Nam!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
It was also lovely to be the helpers, to see the things that are deep in a friends basement, to be allowed to know them in such a deep way. And to take some of that stuff to pass on to my kids--a big thing of pennies my daughter will love cashing in on, a jaguar image that one of my students will need on her alter, a table and chairs that will help start our other daughter's new marriage, a load of outdoor folding chairs to seat those who we serve here on hot summer nights. Each gift allows us to NOT go out an buy more, and so the circle is seen there, too. We are not our things, but in moments of purchase, a tiny bit of us is expressed, and for some, this is their only expression of self. Also, I've always given things away (not having the patience for a yard sale!), so in this I felt given to, which is no small thing. Such richness in "junk" at the side of the curb!
Great timely post! I just spent yesterday working on cleaning out a garage filled to the rafters with stuff at a friend's house (and that was just the first phase...much more to go). I am going to send her this post. AND I liked the response just before mine by anonymous. Very nice!
What causes one to hold on to "things" as they are not was creates ones happiness in life. As I am now in the process of helping my sister pack up herself and four children as her marriage is ending she is now realizing that she held on to the wrong "things". It seems to be that time of year whether one is pushed into it or they want to do that they feel the need to cleanse their homes of "things" and "stuff". If only everyone throughtout the year would hold onto their family and friends instead of the material "things" people would find the true meaning of love and happiness.
Post a Comment