stuff and more stuff

"Our enormously productive economy...demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption...we need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate."

Victor LeBow, Free Enterprise:The Opium of the American People, 1972

I just moved into my housesitting job for September. I've been doing a lot of that over these past 12 months, kind of a modern study in nomadic culture. When I was in Mongolia in 2002, I was amazed at the concept of the yurt and moving every 4 months. Little did I know that I'd be having a similar experience in my own not too distant future!

In preparation for this pilgrimage, I let go of most of my "stuff" with care, keeping only the things that really mattered to me. Want more insight into your attachments? Have a yard sale! I hovered over the books like Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice. My face recoiled in horror as an excited shopper planned to use my framed Chihuly prints to showcase his Batman comics!

Even after all of the letting go, I was still left with a lot of "stuff", which is now strewn across the country in various safehouses awaiting my next domicile. (Hopefully that will happen soon, as I am wearying of the constant movement of this extended road trip.) One thing about carting your stuff around is that you will really start to pay attention to what you use, what you buy and how much it weighs!!

I never considered myself a "materialistic" person--though how could this really be true--let's face it, I was born and raised in a culture where consumerism is the fundamental religion. Nevertheless, I always said I didn't get the shopping gene and tried to keep things relatively simple. So it's been somewhat of a shock to see all the stuff I've still been carrying around. How much I use, or more accurately, don't use, as I cart my belongings between house stops. I'm not advocacting for a commune mind you, but there is something to be said for sharing stuff. It sure does cut down on the use of resources and the need for disposal.

But that would throw a wrench in the system and then what would we do? Annie Leonard spent the last ten years researching The Story of Stuff and her 20 minute documentary is simplified, but worth watching. http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Take a look around at your stuff. Try for a month to be conscious of how much you actually use, appreciate, touch. What does it mean to you? What would it mean to let go of it? What would be left? Or what would fit in the gap left behind?