When is Enough, Enough?
Hi there Gentle Reader,
Happy Monday to you! Well you this know keener monkey would say it. Thanks for the visit. Coffee or tea?
Here in Canada, we have a pretty fine life. Our friends in Haiti are going through a tragic and major crisis but their lives prior to the earthquake were also very difficult and challenging. Poverty and unemployment was common place. Homes were primarily poorly constructed shelters (no building codes to protect tenants) so it is no surprise that an earthquake would cause catastrophic damages. The world has been responding to their cries for help through donations and volunteer work. Wonderful global community.
However, it does make you think when you see so many people with so little and compare it with your own abundance.
I mean, when is enough, ENOUGH?
Sometimes the pursuit of the hunt is the real key to happiness when it comes to finding those designer shoes on sale or locating that rare figurine for your collection on eBay. Once acquired, we admire it for awhile and then many will add it to their already expanding group of "Widgets" (for the "technical" definition please see January 12th blog "What's Your Widget?" http://blog.chartreusemonkey.com/2010/01/12/whats-your-widget.aspx,), and then the search starts over again.
Why do we measure our happiness and success by the amount of items we own? Why don't we place more emphasis on all the amazing things in this world that can't be measured like human compassion and kindness. Is someone who donates a million dollars to the Haiti relief fund more important than someone who gives $10? Is a doctor more successful than a teacher or a janitor or a dog walker? Is the true definition of human value all about income?
The more objects that take up our physical space, then more emotional space is tied up too. It gives us a bigger footprint on this planet. This is where being sentimental comes into play and can get us in trouble. We attach people and emotions to things. That movie stub represents a great out night with the gals from the office, the pressed flower was from your first date with your husband back in 1997, those jeans were your favourite pair before you gained weight. However, the items themselves are just touchstones. Not the actual memory but a symbol of it. However, what if you start to feel badly that the favourite jeans haven't fit in over a year or that the love of your life walked away. The items haven't changed, just our importance placed on them. Keep the lovely memory and recycle the item if you no longer use or need it.
I am all about quality vs. quantity and appreciating the items in your life - your books, artwork, cds, shoes...whatever makes you smile. However, if you get to a point in your life where you are starting to build an inventory and have so many boxes in the basement (or in storage offsite) that you can't even remember what is in them, then it is time to do more housekeeping.
More tomorrow. Keep smiling today!
Linda
Happy Monday to you! Well you this know keener monkey would say it. Thanks for the visit. Coffee or tea?
Here in Canada, we have a pretty fine life. Our friends in Haiti are going through a tragic and major crisis but their lives prior to the earthquake were also very difficult and challenging. Poverty and unemployment was common place. Homes were primarily poorly constructed shelters (no building codes to protect tenants) so it is no surprise that an earthquake would cause catastrophic damages. The world has been responding to their cries for help through donations and volunteer work. Wonderful global community.
However, it does make you think when you see so many people with so little and compare it with your own abundance.
I mean, when is enough, ENOUGH?
Sometimes the pursuit of the hunt is the real key to happiness when it comes to finding those designer shoes on sale or locating that rare figurine for your collection on eBay. Once acquired, we admire it for awhile and then many will add it to their already expanding group of "Widgets" (for the "technical" definition please see January 12th blog "What's Your Widget?" http://blog.chartreusemonkey.com/2010/01/12/whats-your-widget.aspx,), and then the search starts over again.
Why do we measure our happiness and success by the amount of items we own? Why don't we place more emphasis on all the amazing things in this world that can't be measured like human compassion and kindness. Is someone who donates a million dollars to the Haiti relief fund more important than someone who gives $10? Is a doctor more successful than a teacher or a janitor or a dog walker? Is the true definition of human value all about income?
The more objects that take up our physical space, then more emotional space is tied up too. It gives us a bigger footprint on this planet. This is where being sentimental comes into play and can get us in trouble. We attach people and emotions to things. That movie stub represents a great out night with the gals from the office, the pressed flower was from your first date with your husband back in 1997, those jeans were your favourite pair before you gained weight. However, the items themselves are just touchstones. Not the actual memory but a symbol of it. However, what if you start to feel badly that the favourite jeans haven't fit in over a year or that the love of your life walked away. The items haven't changed, just our importance placed on them. Keep the lovely memory and recycle the item if you no longer use or need it.
I am all about quality vs. quantity and appreciating the items in your life - your books, artwork, cds, shoes...whatever makes you smile. However, if you get to a point in your life where you are starting to build an inventory and have so many boxes in the basement (or in storage offsite) that you can't even remember what is in them, then it is time to do more housekeeping.
More tomorrow. Keep smiling today!
Linda
Posted by Chartreuse Monkey at 1/18/2010 2:08 PM 
Categories: stuff, organizing
Tags: storage organizing
Categories: stuff, organizing
Tags: storage organizing
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