"Is it so small a thing to have enjoyed the sun, to have lived light in the spring, to have loved, to have thought, to have done, to have advanced true friends?" I just read this quote in _The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society_ and feel it resonates so deeply with where I am this very moment, especially as I reflect on space, place and time.
Here's what's true about me:
I've always been a binger and purger - of stuff. For the last few years, I manage at least 1 trip to Goodwill per month. I always feel I have too much stuff but the relief I seek from it remains elusive, no matter how much I eliminate.
I have always been an avid collector of empty vessels in hopes of finally achieving organizational nirvana.
I've bought bins, saved boxes, collected tins, and have rarely allowed any container to move into the recycling bin without first assessing it's potential as the perfect organizational device. Right now I think I am at all all time low of empty vessels (which are full of potential, of course) and I'd estimate that I have about 150 unused vessels of various sizes. They are waiting to be made into gifts, drawer dividers, keeper of seasonal items or holding cells as the case, quite shamefully, often is.
I have made a habit of organizing rather than simplifying.
I have made a habit of pursuing frugal choices instead of essential ones.
I have used "creativity" as an excuse to keep the possibly salvageable.
I have judged others critically based on the life I haven't yet truly begun to live.
I have read many articles and books about simplifying and organizing. I haven't found any single piece of information that crystallizes my bottom line in this journey. Many approaches have been useful for a spell but none has propelled me continuously.
I have studied feng shui and deem parts of it useful (for me) (note - *before* it became a pop culture sensation.)
I have confused living simply with cheap living.
I believe that the answer to a great many of my unhappinesses lies in the simplifying of my environment, for in it is my entire world.
Next post: The Moon (or what it is I hope to "see")
"I have made a habit of pursuing frugal choices instead of essential ones."
ReplyDeleteSo many people, myself included, confuse frugality with simplicity--they are so different. In my efforts to be frugal I was creating stockpiles of crap that made me anxious. I got to a point where managing all the stuff felt like a part-time job! This was on top of the part-time job of "finding all the deals" and couponing and the full-time job where I actually earned money.