subject: Stuff We Really Need In Our Lives [print this page] How much stuff do we really need to accumulate in our lives? When people have significant life changes such as when they move to a different house, divorce or remarry, become empty nesters, or retire, it is common to get rid of a lot of stuff. They have garage sales, give things away to relatives, and bag up items to give to charity.
If most of us look around our homes, we can easily see countless objects that we do not need and are just taking up space and gathering dust. We have trinkets of all kinds such as outdated and superfluous electronic gadgets, various pieces of cooking equipment that really weren't that necessary after all, bits and pieces from would-be hobbies or interests that we soon tired of, bits of costume jewelry, clothing items that were never worn, must-have products advertised on television, etc. We all have them. The question is why?
For some things that we see around us there was a good reason for their purchase. Those items were needed at the time and received a lot of use, but have long ago become a white elephant in our home. Some items are especially dear to us for their sentimental value. We have to scratch our heads about other items as we try to remember their usefulness and why we found it so important to purchase them. Some of the items, of course, are gifts from long ago Christmas's, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
However it happened that these questionable items appeared in our lives, they are symbols of a culture of spending and accumulating just because we can. It would be interesting for the average household to add up the cost of the unnecessary items purchased as a reality check. This figure could be weighed against different choices that could have been made such as investing in things that give greater personal value. These would be things that can open doorways to a more meaningful and purposeful life such as education or training in a chosen field of interest, spending precious time with loved ones, or healthier eating and lifestyle choices.
Gift giving in itself is a tradition that too often results in things that sit on a shelf with no purpose. We all know that. We have all given these kinds of gifts. We have all received these types of gifts. We have all done last minute shopping and bought something, just anything, so that we had something to give. We all know in our hearts that there are better gift possibilities, even things that are free, such as giving of our time and ourselves. These are things that will not gather dust on the shelf, but will accumulate true value in the heart of both the giver and the receiver.
