Now that we have so much more time at home, and particularly in our houses, like me, you have probably begun to look more critically at your living space and in so doing, I have begun to put some observations into clearer perspective.
In and around where I live in western Washington there are at least two large and expensive commercial construction projects within 15 mikes of my home. Both are self storage facilities. They are located next to Highway 101 and are very visible from the roadway. So we have high cost real estate being developed into high cost commercial construction to provide people a place to store things at a high cost. Some one is risking a lot of money because they believe that we will have too much stuff for the size of our homes and garages; even the Garage-mahals.
As I look around my house a critical question has emerged; Has my home in fact become a storage unit for stuff I don’t need, use, or even really notice?
I have books that I haven’t opened in decades (not just years). We have a small curio cabinet that I never look into (offhand, I couldn’t even tell you what is in there), awards certificates, proclamations, and acclamations that are’t impressing anyone, a whole host of things from past hobbies, tools that haven’t been touched; the list goes on and on as you can imagine (not to mention what is lurking in the closets, drawers and cabinets). All stuff that, if I am completely and brutally honest, I no longer need and will never use. The vast majority of which will be left to the kids as a daunting albatross of things they will need to dispose of in the midst of grief. Things that will only intensify their sense of loss and suffering and take up a lot of time, energy and money in the process, leaving a lingering sense of guilt over discarding what we have left behind and was presumably important to us.
I have kept much of my stuff as a kind of shrine to the past, and, in answering my earlier question, my home has become a storage unit.
It’s time to question and rethink.
Why has this happened? Has my ego and need for self affirmation, worth and value overwhelmed my judgement?
Ultimately, as with so many issues in life, our actions (or lack of them) reflect something much deeper.
The problem I see is the result of a problem that I have.
It is not these things that are the real issue, they are a symptom. The real issue is where I find self worth, identity, and fulfillment. Those are very much spiritual issues.
You would think that after 41 years as a Priest, and particularly as a Franciscan, that I would have figured this out and known better, but you would be wrong.
The erroneous belief and fundamental lie of my culture is that things are always a solution rather than a problem, yet experience teaches us that our things own us as much as we own them.
The bedrock truth of the Christian faith is that we are loved, valued, and cherished not just by others, but by God. This is not because of our abilities, our history, our church, our beliefs, our talents, or what we think we have accomplished, but simply because God is who He is and because we are; we exist. It cannot be changed. Or abridged. Or altered. Or conditioned. Or negated. Sacred writing bears witness to it, life experience confirms it, the deepest recesses of the human spirit know it. This is the un-negotiated Covenant of human existence.
So get over yourself…..it’s all about God.
It is so simple yet so difficult to really and truly accept. Believing in that love, and particularly trusting in it, is a lifelong journey. For each of us there are many twists and turns. Navigating this path is the real challenge and essence of what we call discipleship.
Simplifying my life and my space begins with simplifying my relationship with God. Believing in that love, trusting in that love, accepting, that love, celebrating that love.
For me, it’s time to hit the trail……..again…….for the ump-ti-umph time……to get off my spiritual butt, follow the light and correct course.
It time to clean house; both the one inside…….and the one on Independence Drive.
Faith and Simplicity 
Well said!!
Moving from the Bay Area helped us leave a fair bit behind; happily, we knew folks who could make use of much of what we chose to leave. Knowing the house into which we would be moving was also helpful. We could ask ourselves where we would put “this;” if we didn’t have at least some sense of where it would go, it didn’t make the move. That is not to say we didn’t bring more than we needed; we did!! We did indeed have to rent a storage unit when we first arrived; our commitment to ourselves was that it would be empty within two months, and through God’s grace, we honored that commitment.
The more I reflect on exactly the things you mention, the more I find the grace to give things away. And there are still some things in boxes that I keep purely for sentimental reasons. I go through those boxes at least annually and usually find that I am ready to let a few more things go.
I expect there will still be a few boxes when I die; and I will tell my sons (and leave a note) that it is absolutely okay to give it all away. Just because those things are important to me doesn’t mean they have to have any value for anyone else.
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