Monthly Archives: July 2006

I’ve been fretting about my overwhelmingly large collection of physical “stuff” again lately. I do this several times a year. It used to be only in the fall. Then it was in the spring and the fall. Now, it seems to be nearly constant.

I think about my belief that we, in America, have too much. We have so much that we appreciate nothing. I look at what the typical family owns, how disposable everything is, how overwhelming in volume. It makes me ill. I think about the conversations I’ve overheard about how “it doesn’t cost as much to live in other countries, so ‘those people’ don’t need to earn as much as we do…” and my stomach turns. I actually heard someone say that to one of my children the other day, and I had a fit. I described (to my child) the differences I noticed between America and China and why we are lazy and greedy in comparison.

Then I look at myself… under a magnifying glass.

I try to balance my Zen tendencies. I think about how to create a sustainable, socially and ecologically aware lifestyle. I don’t want a mansion. I like lots of outdoor space and a fairly tiny indoor space. I want to better appreciate the things I have, I want for very little. I need my personal space to be uncrowded and uncluttered. Currently, these needs aren’t being met.

I’ve asked all my family and friends to refrain from buying me things. I’m beginning to really believe that the belongings in this life aren’t something we drag along behind us, but they are what we must push before us, everywhere we go. I know that’s a quote from someone (loosely translated) but I don’t remember who said it.

I do know they were wise…

Continue reading →