I love my stuff, and I still have all of it (unlike those people from the hurricanes and earthquake), but it has been quite a shift temporarily living with less. My apartment in Austin is great, situated to many conveniences, including work, but it just feels slightly strange...
When I moved several weeks ago, I only brought two chairs, and ottoman, a bed and a few dishes. Honestly, I feel almost monastic. If I were sleeping on the floor, I might have to start chanting every morning. But all of that stuff? What is the point of it? When people marvel at the mass amounts of dishes, serving pieces and other dinnerware that I possess, I always tell them the same story: When I was a poor, little girl growing up in the slums of Tulsa, OK and eating off of paper plates, I told myself that when I grew up I could have all the dishes that I wanted. With God as my witness, I'll never eat off paper plates again.
But what do all of these things mean? Zeebahtronic has a nice excerpt by her friend Pansy on how things can overpower the really important parts of our lives. Mostly I agree with what she had to say, and I think that it’s important to be mindful of the things that we keep. You're laughing aren't you? But it's true, I have A LOT of junk, but I use it all and all of it is an important part of my life: socializing and entertaining friends and family. I do think that shopping at thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales is a more conscionable way to live and be in this world. Wal-Mart, and many other outlets, makes things cheap and affordable, but also blinds our society with the availability of it--allowing other things to be ignored: injustice, education, and community to start. When the poor didn't have anything, they fought for the right to unionize, for civil rights and for education. Now, our entire society (in every social spectrum) is too numb with stuff to think about anything but more stuff. Whew! Deep thought from MTSS.
On a lighter note, the little thrift shopping I have done in Austin has rendered basically nothing. When I first got here, I needed a table for my computer and thought I could easily find one at a local thrift store. Five stores later, and nary a thing to show except for a small set of juice glasses adorned with birds. They're lovely and I wonder who could have gotten rid of them? Perhaps they just wanted less stuff. It seems that Austin will make thrifting more challenging, as all of the hip kids are tapped into what is great and what is trash. Lots of trash.
Remember to thrift (and live) thoughtfully.
When I moved several weeks ago, I only brought two chairs, and ottoman, a bed and a few dishes. Honestly, I feel almost monastic. If I were sleeping on the floor, I might have to start chanting every morning. But all of that stuff? What is the point of it? When people marvel at the mass amounts of dishes, serving pieces and other dinnerware that I possess, I always tell them the same story: When I was a poor, little girl growing up in the slums of Tulsa, OK and eating off of paper plates, I told myself that when I grew up I could have all the dishes that I wanted. With God as my witness, I'll never eat off paper plates again.
But what do all of these things mean? Zeebahtronic has a nice excerpt by her friend Pansy on how things can overpower the really important parts of our lives. Mostly I agree with what she had to say, and I think that it’s important to be mindful of the things that we keep. You're laughing aren't you? But it's true, I have A LOT of junk, but I use it all and all of it is an important part of my life: socializing and entertaining friends and family. I do think that shopping at thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales is a more conscionable way to live and be in this world. Wal-Mart, and many other outlets, makes things cheap and affordable, but also blinds our society with the availability of it--allowing other things to be ignored: injustice, education, and community to start. When the poor didn't have anything, they fought for the right to unionize, for civil rights and for education. Now, our entire society (in every social spectrum) is too numb with stuff to think about anything but more stuff. Whew! Deep thought from MTSS.
On a lighter note, the little thrift shopping I have done in Austin has rendered basically nothing. When I first got here, I needed a table for my computer and thought I could easily find one at a local thrift store. Five stores later, and nary a thing to show except for a small set of juice glasses adorned with birds. They're lovely and I wonder who could have gotten rid of them? Perhaps they just wanted less stuff. It seems that Austin will make thrifting more challenging, as all of the hip kids are tapped into what is great and what is trash. Lots of trash.
Remember to thrift (and live) thoughtfully.