Fetters and Jailhouse Walls: Part 2

So...

I just finished writing Fetters and Jailhouse Walls and in an on-line conversation about the post, I typed something that turned out to be a major epiphany (why do my epiphanies only come to conscious attention after I speak or write them?). That epiphany triggered this post.

One of the big issues involved in disposing of material excess is deciding what to keep. I've struggled with this because I have a lot of stuff, and for each item I've had to consider whether it was something I'd need in my new life, whether it was something worth transporting to Hawai`i, and whether or not it had emotional significance to me. That's too much consideration when you have as much crap as I do!

So the epiphany was this; for me, the things worth keeping will fall into one of the following categories:

1. Necessities
• basic clothing
• basic shelter
• basic hygiene items
2. Tools
• tools required to practice your trade
• tools that empower you
• tools that enrich your life
3. Aesthetic Items
• things that are beautiful
• things with which one creates beauty
4. Enlightening Items
• things that stimulate the intellect
• things that stimulate the intuition
• things that challenge assumptions

I'm not suggesting that these categories are altogether comprehensive, nor am I suggesting that they're universal to everyone. What I'm suggesting is that these are the things that are important to me. And if anything I own does not fit easily into one of these categories, I will not regret disposing of it. To me, these are the necessities: physical needs, tools of empowerment, things of beauty, and things that awaken me.

That's not to say that things not in these categories are automatically on the chopping block but if I have to choose between something that is in one of these categories and something that isn't, that which isn't will go.

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.