I have been thinking a lot about STUFF. Three houses full of stuff.
Thousands of photographs, a few boxes of journals.
Lots of almost unused art supplies
Floppy discs; I think I have all the contents transferred.
Cloud Storage on Dropbox and Flickr.
About 8000 books. Three clothes closets and a cedar chest.
50 years of stuff and some of my mother's stuff, too.
Just last week, a Pismo clamshell that I had been using as a soap dish
cracked in two when I washed it under the hot water faucet.
I've been thinking.
Looking for something else just now in computer files I found this part of a poem
which I never finished. I might work on it now.
I love Pismo Beach and have only been there twice,
once overnight on the way to San Diego County to look
for Diane's new home.
And once when I took my daughter and son-in-law--
and their toddler and the baby--
there on the way back from the audition for
Wheel of Fortune.
He wasn't selected.
Somewhere I have a photo of him wading in the shallow water with his young son,
and the baby on his shoulders..
We didn't know then (he was losing weight) that he already
had the cancer that would kill him in a couple of years.
He ran down Pismo beach
throwing bits of bread into the air for the gulls
the shapes of their wings were like the lightest patches in a quilt
Summoned, he returns to me
on the broad flat beach at low tide
huge white clamshells in the shallow purling surf
shocking wave-glints
light light light
June Hopper Hymas
That's what I found. I don't want to throw it away. Sleep tight.
Perhaps you have already
downsized.
Downsizing is it organizing your past of all the collections and memories that belong in it or is it preparing for a future life? Often if we try hard we can combine both of these thoughts frames I think, I did the downsizing thing or I prefer to think of it as organizing you know getting stuff sorted in order to make it less messy easier to find things when the hunt for a certain something begins. I threw or gave away insignificant stuff. I wanted structure in my life to Simplify it. I seek peace and serenity in my life now not only do I seek it I really need it. I feel like I am making a clear pathway for my future in the life I now live.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy! I appreciate your thoughts!
ReplyDelete