- Old Philosophy
[This page's contents are previous titles moved from the "Philosophy" page as new titles are created and posted to Philosophy. Confused? Well that is how philosophy can be sometimes.]
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{5/31/08}
things…..Things……THINGS……THINGS!!!!!
OK - I admit it, I’m a pack rat. I married a pack rat. I spent a significant portion of my life (youth especially) indulging in recreational shopping, BUT I SWEAR TO ANY ACKNOWLEDGED DIETY I could NOT have brought all those THINGS into my house. Someone had to have snuck into that house, repeatedly, when we weren’t looking and left things…. lots of things. I absolutely do not accept responsibility for being the crass materialist that all the evidence accuses me of being.
To say I owned many things, however, is almost completely backward. What I have discovered is the things owned me. These things begged to be sorted, washed, dusted, displayed, painted, tucked away, thought about, pruned, paid for, and finally disposed of. Add to two massive garage sales and one even larger moving sale all the re-gifting, donation (we are the sole suppliers to the Goodwill in our neighborhood), begging to friends to please take this …. whatever….., a 20 yard dumpster, Craigslist, eBay, just blatantly leaving things in people’s yards when they’re not home and putting the house up for sell in the worst real-estate market since the great depression we FINALLY rid ourselves of enough of these sole sucking things to feel free! We drove away and did not have a million things begging to be cared for.
I’ve decided that it’s not that the things are actually evil (although I wouldn’t have said that after the 2nd yard sale), but the way I have chosen to interact with them. I should join Thing Anonymous and take the pledge. I still enjoys things, but I believe someone else should own them. I will best serve my own mental health and become a more progressive citizen of the world if I support, acknowledge and praise the accomplishment of others in their creation and/or acquisition of things.
So when I approach you and ask if I might admire your thingamajig and ask how you came about owning it and if you like it or how it makes you feel, - please - indulge me, BUT…….. don’t leave me alone with it, - - -
cause it’s clear I am an addict and NOT to be trusted.
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