Sharing with a friend about the huge task of sorting, cleaning, organizing, and preparing my mother-in-law’s home full of personal belongings following her passing from this life, his response was, “I would hope I would have sufficient warning to take care of things.”
I understand his hope, but I also think it is something I want to deal with sooner rather than later. While I might not consciously aspire to acquire, we are all products of that post-depression generation and we have w-a-y t-o-o m-u-c-h stuff.
After spending a week working so hard that I have ended up walking like my MIL did at 92, this morning our book club opened up Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, and Lead to this heading: The Source of Scarcity. “Scarcity doesn’t take hold in a culture overnight. But the feeling of scarcity does thrive in shame-prone cultures that are deeply steeped in comparison and fractured by disengagement.”
How many pairs of knee-hi hose is enough? How long should one keep a half-finished craft item one has not touched in a decade? Will one wear a dozen watches? Does one need three closets full of clothes? Please don’t judge her harshly. This is about most Americans, for sure. I know the pattern to the bean bag chair I made 35 years ago is still here in my house. I can guarantee you I would never make another. Why hold on to what is not needed?
I am hanging out this dirty laundry in hopes we can all recover from the deep insecurity that had us hanging on to things. I am not talking about tossing out the truly significant items we might consciously want to preserve. That attitude is healthy. Our habits toward acquisition are not.
Matthew 6:19-20
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;…
Anatole France said it best, “It is good to collect things, but it is better to go on walks.”
We cannot take it with us.
As soon as my knee recovers, I am going to choose one room per month to purge. We can take a lesson from the Tiny House Nation and clear each room of all but the necessities.
We can pretend we have died and are sorting out only those things that are worthy of passing along. While at it, we can also be clearing out old attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors….
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| My sister-in-law and I rewired this little lamp for mom last May. She had just come home from the hospital with hospice care. She loved using it for a night light. It is now in my family room. |
