Everything You
Always Wanted To Know About Stuff (But Were Afraid To Ask)
By Cyndi Seidler
08/21/06
When you get
right down to it, there is so much written about stuff that it
could fill your computer to the limit. And, we know what happens
then: it stops working.
That's just
what happens when we cram our house full of stuff. It stops
working. The space fills up and, like a computer hard drive,
begins to slow you down to the point you have to start looking
for things to toss out. Only, you just end up tossing enough
stuff to make room for the new stuff you want to bring in.
It's what
people do: put stuff in spaces. They clear out some stuff in a
space, then can't bear the void space it left behind. So, they
are compelled to put another piece of stuff there before the
extra space gnaws at their very being. We've all seen it: where
there is space, there is stuff.
We all know
that there is stuff we cherish and want to hold on to. Some
stuff acts like our lifeline and, if we were to give it up, we
believe we would cease to exist. It's a common mindset among
human beings. However, even that stuff can eventually lose its
value as time goes by.
Yes, we must
value our stuff in order to justify keeping it. After all, we
would seem insane otherwise, wouldn't we? That's when a
re-evaluation of our stuff can be therapeutic (not that stuff
should ever put us into therapy!).
Basically,
you just look at your stuff and decide what kind of stuff it is:
stuff with value or stuff with no value anymore. There's no
in-between, no other factors, and certainly no gray area to deal
with. The stuff has value or it doesn't.
Now, when
you think of stuff as just stuff, it often takes on the aspect
of being meaningless. I mean, suddenly it isn't the same piece
of stuff you thought it was when you first got it. It's amazing.
Stuff has to
have function or provide beauty. There's no gray area on that
either. If we're going to insist on keeping a piece of our
stuff, it should be one or the other or both. To keep it
otherwise is a violation of the ambiguous guidelines involving
our stuff, and precipitates problems.
Just take a
look at a cluttered space. You know there's stuff in there that
doesn't have a function and it certainly isn't displayed to be
stuff that is beautiful. What's more, there's so much of it that
there's not much room left for you to even be in it. Big
problem.
A space
doesn't have to have a lot of stuff in or on it to become a
problem though. Old, disenchanted stuff sitting on a shelf
usually collects dust instead of admiration. I've seen the most
interesting do-dads on shelves and table surfaces and have to
wonder what kind of function it has, since it doesn't have any
aspects of beauty.
I guess
beauty is in the eye of the beholder though. Sometimes I just
can't help but think, "What were they thinking?!"
Then again,
perhaps I'm just being critical of other people's stuff. After
all, our own stuff is usually more justified than other people's
stuff. We have attachments to our stuff, and that is our
justifiable standard.
Attachments
are like the glue that holds our stuff to us. It's hard to break
that bond, and most times we don't want to. I still have my
first piece of jewelry from my parents. Just try to ask me to
toss that.
Not everyone
will become unglued when they let go of an old attachment.
People can keep stuff for awhile for the sake of the keepsake,
and then one day the glue that bound them to it just drops away.
Streamlining
your stuff can cause this phenomenon to happen. With
streamlining, we're making a new beginning with new stuff and
new environments, and is the leading cause of fresh starts.
Making a
move is also a way to change points of view about stuff and
creating fresh starts. Or, going on one of those TV makeover
shows. They encourage the participants to toss most of their
stuff, and it's a regular tear-jerker.
In the end,
we know there is always going to be stuff in our lives. We can't
live with it and we can't live without it, as some stuff
demands. The only thing we can do is try to understand it.
Copyright
2006 Cyndi Seidler. All Rights Reserved.
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