Saturday, February 19, 2011

A Changing Era

My parents were raised during the Depression and World War II. They learned to save everything, because you never knew when you might need it. You might those jars or cans or bits of string or pieces of wrapping paper.

Today, we live in an age of plenty... We don't need to save all those yogurt containers. We could recycle them... And yet, we hold onto things, because they might be useful someday... And we wouldn't want to have to buy something new, when we have something old that could do the same job. But... in today's world, space is at a premium. We pay mortgages... We pay rent... We pay storage fees... Which are all calculated based on square footage. Yes, we can buy the space... but if I get a larger space, because I have a lot of stuff... then I am paying to store my stuff... I am paying money to store empty yogurt containers... or clothes that I don't wear... or books that I'll never read again.

Even worse when I move... All those boxes of books cost money to move... Everything costs money to move... I have binders full of 35 mm slides in plastic sleeves. From my geology days... from my forestry days. They are heavy! Do I refer to them? No. Do I think I might refer to them at some point? Maybe... For what purpose? I don't know! But you never know when you might need them! .... Uh-huh... really... They cost money though! I can't replace them! They're like negatives... They don't take up a lot of space... well... a whole shelf in my cabinet... There are Europe trips in there too...

For me it's 35 mm slides and photographs and books... What is it for you? What do you really resist letting go of? How is it moving your life forward? Is it moving your life forward? Or is it maybe holding you back, acting as an anchor... Just wondering...

No comments: