I’ve often spoken about the perils of having too many material possessions and how too often we can let ourselves be ruled by stuff. It sucks. It keeps a hold on you and fills you with unnecessary worry and anxiety.
- “Oh, but what’ll happen to my car?”
- “I lost my phone—what am I gonna do?!”
- “ARGH! This is why I never lend things to people—look at the spine of this book!”
But I think we’ve got to a point in the year where we can have a good conversation without being too preachy, right?
It sucks when your possessions aren’t quite the way they’re supposed to be. Imperfections on what was once pristine. Items overshadowed by a newer, shinier model. Or in my case—books missing from a once-complete collection. These are the kinds of things you can only learn over time—nothing ever lasts forever. Friendships only last for so long, there’s no guarantee that people will always stay in the same place, and what may be a sure thing one day might not be so the next.
When I was younger, I’d lend things to people without worry. None of these stick out in my memory as much as a whole heap of John Constantine: Hellblazer books that I wanted my friend to read. Years passed as he graduated from high school, went through university and moved away to the States. We still chatted here and there, but without it looking likely to get it back, I decided to take matters into my own hands.But things aren’t always so easy the second time around. Just as we change, and just as time flows ever forward changing the world around us, our opportunities also change. We can have all the time and money in the world and know a ridiculous number of people, but it’s something’s unattainable, there ain’t much we can do about it! And when a book’s out of print, a book’s out of print.
So learn the lesson I didn’t—stuff may be stuff, but it’s your stuff. So be careful with it, treat it with respect, and if you are going to lend it out, make sure it’ll be somewhere you can easily get it back.
‘Cause if you don’t, time and money won’t be the only waste you make in replacing things—your patience and sanity might just be next!
298/365
P.S. If you don’t know the hilarity where that image is sourced from, you need to click it to find out!
This January, my husband and I split up after ten years together. I couldn’t stay in the apartment we’d shared, as the rent was too dear. So in April, my daughter and I moved to a new (and, as it turns out, way better!) apartment.
Moving day was cold and dark, with sheets of hard rain that soaked through your clothes in seconds and stung like a thousand tiny pinpricks. It was heinous. I had a crew of family and friends helping me, but because of the weather, everyone was rushing.
When the dust settled in my new home, I looked around and saw that most of my furniture was damaged in some way – scratches and scrapes on tables and chairs, a couple broken glass panes on a buffet, and in the case of my bedside table, the corner broken clean off.
I haven’t replaced any of the furniture (except for the glass panes). The last thing I see at night, and the first thing in my line of vision in the morning, is the bedside table with the broken-off corner. And do you know what I see when I look at that broken-off corner?
I see my army of friends and family, who braved cold, wet, dreary conditions helping me move… because they love me.
And the damage makes me smile, because it’s a reminder of something much, much much more valuable.
BAHAHAHA that poster link is awesome!!