Thursday, October 20, 2011

unravelling: favourite things


Last week was the third week of the Unravelling e-course, and we have been thinking about and taking some photographs of our favourite things. One of the questions asked was, what would we save if there was a fire? This question really pulled me up short, or rather my answer did.There are lot of things I am fond of and that I couldn't really replace. In the photos above are my childhood books, our wedding rings and handfasting ribbons, and a garden bench which belonged to my Auntie. I have hundreds of photographs in a big storage box, but so rarely look at them I can't even recall what most of them are of. I've been planning since forever to sort them out and put them in albums.  I have ornaments I love, and notes and cards I have kept....but really, is any of it that important? 


Buddhism teaches non attachment. You can love a beautiful or precious item but when it breaks, or is lost, you can be philosophical about it. It came along, you had pleasure from it, its time is past, let it go. I think there is something to be said for that. When I thought about my possessions, the accumulation of objects I have acquired over the years, that fill this house,  I realised that none of it is that important to me. In the case of that hypothetical fire, if my son, husband and dog were safe, I really don't think it would occur to me to try to save anything else. So then that begs the question, why do I have a house full of stuff? 


Maybe we are so attached to things because they anchor us. Who would we be, without the photos and ornaments, the books and CDs, the accumulated stuff of a lifetime. Maybe we would be freer without it all, perhaps it would be easier to move on, try new things. It would certainly be easier to do the housework, and to find things, if there were a lot less of them. 


The exercise was valuable for me. I realised both how many lovely treasured items I possess, but equally that none of them is of great importance really.  I am reminded of this quote from Art Buchwald:


Image from stevey


4 comments:

  1. I agree - I wouldn't worry about getting anything out except my family. If the fire were slow-moving and I was thinking straight, I might grab jumpers and our passports and bank cards but I wouldn't be stopping for anything of sentimental value.
    This reinforces my de-cluttering attempts but I keep being thwarted by two small children, for whom everything is a treasure - and a husband who wants to keep everything, just in case.

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  2. I read this post this morning over breakfast and asked Himself what he would save. His automatic answer was exactly the same as mine. The external back up drive. It has all our music, all our photos and everything related to our two businesses on it. (I confess: my instant reaction to saving something was "client information"...I am the data protection act personified)!

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  3. That's a wonderful exercise - I think I might take a little time today to figure that out for myself

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  4. beautifully said. i agree. i am doing the same thing here.

    there are a few things i would grab once the children and pets were out safe.

    rachel reminded me i need to back all my photos music writings up on an external drive lest i lose it and yes i would grab it. my writings and my photos are a documentation of our life and the things we've done that i would like to hold onto

    i guess truly there is nothing else. it's an interesting thought. maybe in this mindframe i will tackle my basement, lol.

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