‘Tis the season for stuff.
It’s that time of year again. The time of year when you’re probably thinking about stuff.
Stuff you want to give. And stuff you want to receive.
In our consumer-driven culture, this time of year more than any other, it’s all about stuff.
And while giving and receiving stuff is great. And having stuff is great. Having too much stuff is definitely not great. In fact, having too much of anything can negatively affect your experience in a big way.
How?
By distracting you from the things you really do love.
And the worst part is, you probably won’t even know it’s happening until you run across something you love, but have forgotten about.
That’s when you say to yourself, “I love this thing, why haven’t I spent more time using it, wearing it, or enjoying it?” Well, it’s because that thing you love so much has been buried under all your other stuff.
This recently happened to me. And it gave me a big wake up call to purge some of my stuff.
I’m notorious for bringing books into my home that “I’m going to read one day”. And those books take up a lot of space on my bookshelves.
So, my wake-up call came when I ran across one of my favorite books, Autobiography of a Yogi, gathering dust on the shelf. I love reading this book, but I haven’t done so in years.
This isn’t good for a couple of reasons.
- Because I love Paramahansa Yogananda’s writing. He was an amazing individual. And he lived an amazing life. In his book he shares a lot of great stories that are both inspiring and uplifting.
- Because I know how important it is to read some form of spiritual literature every day to re-invigorate the mind, body, and soul. This practice prepares us for the battles we’ll face in the day ahead. It also helps us reflect on the day’s events before we turn in at night.
I even listed this practice as one of my 17 favorite ways to transform sadness and suffering into happiness and joy, in The Alchemy of Despair.
So, when I say that rediscovering this book on my shelf gave me a wake-up call, that might be an understatement.
It made me realize that having a lot of stuff can cause you to forget about what’s really important. You get so caught up in the acquisition of more stuff, that you forget to spend time with the stuff you already have and love.
Having a few things you really enjoy enhances your experience much more than having a lot of things you’re only so-so about.
— G. Mark Phillips (@gmarkphillips) December 20, 2016
This goes for anything in life. Books. Relationships. Clothes. Whatever.
Anything that gives your life meaning and purpose can take a back seat if you have too much stuff kicking around.
Human life is finite. We only have so much time here.
So, we’ve got to discriminate when it comes to choosing things we want to bring into our lives. We’ve got to choose wisely. We’ve got to choose stuff we really want to spend our life energy on, and get rid of everything else.
So, the next time that little voice in your head says, “Hey, you need more stuff.” You might want to take a minute and reflect on that.
You might find that you don’t really need more stuff after all.
One thing’s for sure. Just realizing how much of your life energy is depleted by having too much of anything is enough.
Knowing this will help you become ruthless in your purge, and give you the discipline you need to keep more stuff from cluttering up your life.
Good luck out there this holiday season, and Merry Christmas!
Mark
P.S. – And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to spend some quality time with this stuff.
