That thought struck me as I am driving home from the grocery store this morning. I passed a number of 'Garage Sales' - it is Saturday. People mulling around in yards full of 'other peoples junk'. There might be a bargain or two, but I couldn't help but wonder how many of those folks poking around the 'stuff' had storage lockers full of 'stuff' they never use?
We are a strange lot. We have more stuff than we can use, so we go out and pay rent for space to store it. Things we don't see, things we don't think about, and probably don't need. Why do you suppose we do that? Then again we buy larger houses with more garage space while we park the family cars in the street of the driveway. Reason: we have the garage space full of 'stuff' we don't have room for in the house, or we don't want to put in the house. Eventually it is too dirty to use, or we forget about having it, so it just takes up space. Silly isn't it!?
We seem to have developed into a society of 'stuff' none of which we seem to use or need. If we needed it, we would be using it. You know I should talk, I still have stuff in boxes I brought back from my last Mission. In fact I have been looking for one item I really want and need, but have not been able to locate. Maybe I threw it out, or put it up in one of my 'senior moments' for safe keeping and have no idea where that was, or is now. Why do I do those kinds of things?
Well, I haven't gone so far as pay someone for space to store things, yet!
I do have half of a garage full of 'junk' I should have the gumption to get rid of, but for some reason, I just don't get around to it. Is it because it has such sentimental value that I can't let go of it, or is it I am just too lazy to get out there and rummage through it and make a decision of what to do with it. Keep it, or toss it. Maybe I am too weak to make the move to do something about it. I promised myself it would do it before the rains came in 2009. Here it is 2010 and my car is still setting in the drive way. I half console myself with the thought that it is a good safety feature. When the car is there no one can guess if I am home or not. When I do travel, which is seldom these days, that safety isn't there. Does that make me in more of a hurry to return? No, not really. I think it is another of those Society Things that make up the fabric of life as we know it.
When Grandma 'kept house' she didn't have all those worries, if she couldn't make it, she generally went without. No going to the Mall to shop. No numerous outfits hanging in the closet. Well, they didn't even have closets way back then. No electric lights, no cars, no automatic washers and dryers. No TV, heck, not even a radio. The 'parlor' was kept closed up to keep things nice for company. Early to bed and early to rise was the way of everyday life. Kids didn't spend a great deal of time in school. They were pretty occupied with 'chores' that needed tended to everyday. There were no movies and the biggest excitement in the area would have been a barn raising or something that caused neighbors to get together to help someone who needed help beyond their means to do.
No showers when young pepole got married. They would hold quilting bees and through group efforts help the young bride get her household bedding ready . Every young girl had a 'hope chest' that she was working to fill with lovely hand work she had made to complete her home when she was old enough to marry . In fact I recall hearing a couple talk about their courtship. They had spent their evenings quilting, knitting or embroidering so their home would be full of lovely things. He was as handy with a needle and thread or knitting needles as she was, and they took pride in what they accomplished. Sounds strange doesn't it, but back 100 years ago, that would have been normal. Today we do things a whole lot different, I just wonder if it is all that much better?
Everything today is based on money. Or so it seems to me. Walking and planning simple activities seems to have gone out with the 'buggy'. Sad to see it pass us by. Some of the things from way back then would be worth renewing today. The values and the accomplishments were so much more satisfying. When the youth had more time to exercise their imagination in daily activities. When they knew how to have fun without being 'entertained'. Bored was not a word people used back then. There was always so many things that needed to be taken care of, there was not time enough to be bored.
What if, for some reason, we had to go back to some of those ways or things? How much would it effect us? How would we handle the changes? Hopefully that will never happen, but it is good to evaluate the past and put the present into a better perspective. Do we really need all the 'stuff' we gather over the years? When it has lost its usefulness should we have a garage sale to get rid of it, or should we pass it on to someone who is really in need? Could our life become less complicated it we were not burdened with more than we needed? Questions that call for some real thoughtful answers. I certainly don't have any answers, just a lot of questions. My life is cluttered, and not in a very constructive way it seems. When it cools down, will I move to make the change that is needed? I would hope I will. Then again, I have had that in mind for some time, and don't seem to move on it. Maybe today is the time to make the choice to do what needs to be done, sort, discard and clean up. It would be nice to put the car in the garage, where it should be. Nice to know I won't have to tramp through the junk anymore. It seems to come down to what I want for myself, more than what I want for anyone else.
A garage sale wouldn't help me. Chances are it would be more work to have one than just pass the stuff that still has value on to someone who could see it got to another who really could use it, or maybe needs it. Just a thought.
Today seems to be a Society of too much 'stuff' with little thought of why we gather so much around us that we really don't need and sometimes don't even want. Possibly it is time to just take a good look at what is around us and decide we change things and de-clutter our lives. Let the sunshine in and the breeze pass through. Who knows, we might really like it !
Written this 17th day of July 2010
by: Eileen Rosenberg
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