Fetters and Jailhouse Walls

As my departure nears (might even say it looms), I find myself less and less motivated to deal with the temporalities I need to take care of—"stuff" like sorting and disposing of possessions, packing and labeling what I'm keeping, dealing with the house—all I really want to do is spend time with friends and family. In fact I find I resent the things I have to do that make doing the things I want to do more difficult.

Part of it is that mentally, I'm already gone, so the "things" I have to deal with are in some sense already in the rear-view. The people never will be—the people and our relationships are persistent in my mind and extend into the future—but the "stuff" just doesn't matter to me any more.

And part of it is the realization that "things" make pretty effective fetters and walls.

Crass materialism really is awful. Too much regard for the the accumulation and possession of things makes one the slave of those things. How can one follow one's impulses while hauling a shit-ton of stuff around? And in addition, things can easily become barriers that separate people. I want to fly free, but I can't while I have all this stuff!

I've seriously contemplated a one-match solution; light a match, carelessly drop it, and run like hell! Irresponsible, I know, but it's an albatross around my neck. I won't do that, but it sure would be easy...

For me, people are never the kind of burden that things are. People are worth more to me than things are. And in our modern world, with advanced communication technology, relationships can be sustained over vaster distances than what I'm contemplating. If that weren't so, I might not go.

Once I've accomplished this downsizing (I like to think of it as "rightsizing"), I plan to guard against ever being so burdened by things again. It might not be difficult—if living is expensive and income is low, staying "free" of material accumulation may be automatic—but whether it's difficult or easy, it's important. By minimizing what I have (beyond necessities, however those are defined), I'll keep more room in my life for what really matters.

I'll keep more room in my life for family and friends.