Does Your Stuff Own You??

Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis

One of my ongoing topics is about stuff.  It seems to be a sensitive subject for many people who are considering a move.  As a matter of fact, it can be the primary issue in making a life transition into retirement living.  When you stop to consider how important this issue is, it is not unfair to ask the question, “Do you own your stuff, or does your stuff own you?”  Ouch!  It is a tragedy that our lifetime accumulation of things can become such an encumbrance.  When Moses called the Israelites out of Egypt to journey toward freedom and the Promised Land, he told them to prepare to leave quickly.  They were to have staff in hand and gird their loins to travel at any moment.  They were not even to wait for their bread to rise!  Now let’s fast forward to today.  How long would it take us to get ready to move?  Gosh, we’d have to clean the basement, attic, garage, and go through all of our photographs.  I’m thinking a year or more, right?  Some of us might miss out on the Promised Land all together! 

This is all tongue-in-cheek, of course, but it is a serious concern for those that recognize the need to downsize.  It never grows easier to deal with stuff.   Every day you wait, the job becomes more difficult, and your ability to tackle it may be diminished.  It is one of those tasks that is not easier next year.  When you are trapped by a house full of stuff, it is as if it controls you and your choices. We are weighed down with homes and all of our belongings at a time when we need to be free. Maybe we should take a lesson from the Israelites and get ready to move!