Simply Stuff or Minimalist tendencies

Stuff.
We all know what that is.  We have it or had it or think we need it or hate that it owns us or get more or give it away or sell it or walk away from it....garages are filled with it so are kids rooms and storage lockers and facilities or the trunk of our cars ...
What is all this stuff how does it get where it does and how do we process our relationship with all that stuff!
Personally I have a love hate relationship with stuff. I'm an artist and a traveler. I see beauty all around in and including stuff. ..like a feather or seashell or blanket

Stuff can make life enjoyable. Sometimes minimal stuff is an unknown creative freedom!

Many people who have tried letting go of stuff and have taken a minamalist approach for a while agree with me that less can be so much more. Check out The Minimaists.

At my age, I have learned to watch for my own life patterns. I seem to have more stuff when I am feeling poorly than I feel that I need when I am very happy and feeling well. Perhaps my patterns have something to do with a sense of security.  Many people mention thier favorite comfort foods or blanket when they are ill.Why not feel the need for wrapping ourselves up in pleasant stuff when we are hurting. ..I imagine how easy it is to continue trying to cacoon ourselves in some kind of safety that reminds us of more pleasant times. I have heard many similar stories from horders and former horders while helping to clear some of their thoughts and spaces.

I gravitate towards kitchen stuff. ..kewl stoves, enamel and granite ware, tea pot and cups, even plates and glasses.  Cobalt blue glass being a familiar favorite that reminded me of the color of the ocean near my Southern Maine childhood home. I also gravitate towards home stuff. ...furniture, pretty trinkets from the older times, silver hair brushes...hand made baskets and carvings....and homes. I love houses and the tinier the better! I have learned to look at pictures and mostly enjoy things like art pieces right where they are.  That way I don't need to care for them on a daily basis. I can remember them anytime I want to.

And I am human. I know who would have known right...lol I periodically get a stuck feeling that begins my thought process doing a rewind to assess recent decisions based on where I find myself today. Sometimes that path has me in minimalist mode as I find that perhaps my stuff is beginning to own me instead of the other way around!

I have been working on the idea of how to let go with love for many years. Practice is generally a good thing. I think that I have become pretty good at letting go and allowing the energy of life to continue to flow. There are times and things that sort of speak to you now and again. .so I practice paying attention to the things that work well for me over time.  Many things just seem to pass through life without stopping long. Other things may just become a quiet part of who you have become. 

I'm again shaving off the not so important stuff so that I can spend my time and what money I do have being clear and happy and intentional....so a pot that made a few good meals doesn't feel like it needs to be here with me any longer and a visitor to camp sees it and their eyes light with the enjoyable experience of meeting a new friend who is a great fit! Of course the pot lives in a new home! How could we deny the happy cooking couple!  Corny perhaps although I have this experience a lot. Its wonderful.

And FYI the seashells are staying!