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I've always traveled light...though as we get older we tend to accumulate more things.
That's very true. I've always been the exact opposite though. As I grow older, I scale down more and more. (My previous post describing how I've done this.) The sad thing is, in my opinion, is that most people will never experience the real joy and simplicity of this because of the tendency to accumulate, have and hoard. I think this way because I see it more and more as an addiction for some and, for others, done mindlessly. A lot of it is "keeping up with the Joneses" with having to have the latest and greatest of everything. Kids can't be told "no" anymore and many parents seem to have lost their ability to say "no."
We've become a humanistic society. Humanism which teaches that the end goal of all things is man's happiness. If it feels good, do it! If something makes us happy, we should do it, have it or say it. Anything else is lack of self-control, which in modern words is, "Don't you dare come between me and what I want!" "Wants" have become a "right." They're classified right up there with needs, like food, clothing and shelter.
I am a minimalist in a family of packrats and hoarders. It's something I just have to accept. My husband hangs on to everything. Clothes with holes in thm. Stained clothing. Old shoes. Old textbooks that are 5+ years out of date. Old computers, wires, software, etc. Our garage is packed. His closet is packed. his car is packed. Luckily - I've been able to convince him to keep his "stuff" contained to those areas. Thank goodness!
I am a minimalist in a family of packrats and hoarders. It's something I just have to accept. My husband hangs on to everything. Clothes with holes in thm. Stained clothing. Old shoes. Old textbooks that are 5+ years out of date. Old computers, wires, software, etc. Our garage is packed. His closet is packed. his car is packed. Luckily - I've been able to convince him to keep his "stuff" contained to those areas. Thank goodness!
Oh you have my sympathies!!! I've lived with my fair share of packrats and hoarders and they drove/drive me insane! Does this sound familiar:
"Why?! Why are you keeping this box, we don't even have that stupid appliance anymore?!?!"
"OMG, you kept the appliance? It's irreparably broken, which is why I threw it out!! I can't believe you dug it out of the trash!!"
"If you absolutely had to keep it, why didn't you at least put in back its ^$#%! empty box?!?"
"You couldn't find the box?!?! Maybe because there is so much ^$#! junk stashed everywhere!!"
<storming off in frustration to have a valium and a stiff drink>
We've become a humanistic society. Humanism which teaches that the end goal of all things is man's happiness. If it feels good, do it! If something makes us happy, we should do it, have it or say it. Anything else is lack of self-control, which in modern words is, "Don't you dare come between me and what I want!" "Wants" have become a "right." They're classified right up there with needs, like food, clothing and shelter.
Humanism says people can find purpose in life and maximize their long-term happiness by developing their talents and using those talents for the service of humanity.
I've always traveled light...though as we get older we tend to accumulate more things.
I've seen that in family members. It may bring them comfort to have "things", but it is also a form of selfishness to want to grasp them to the very end since it can leave an enormous burden on those left behind to sort through and dispose of them.
I've joked with Spouse that when his mother dies we should just toss a match in the front door and stand back. She has pack-ratted so much cr.ap from yard sales .... When her grandkids were very small, her hobby came in handy scoping out clothes, but now her house - while not stuffed as bad as a hoarder's - is going to be a major project when she's gone. I suppose she objects to having her kids come in and clear stuff because an empty house would be a symbol of the end of her life.
Myself - RUTHLESS PURGE TIME! I am boxing up and clearing out everything. It makes the house feel less burdened when all we have is what we absolutely need, saving some art and mementos that have deep meaning.
I've always traveled light...though as we get older we tend to accumulate more things.
I think we tend to accumulate more of certain things at least; but it also becomes easier to let other things go.
For me, I tend to hold on to (practical) things that I know will be nearly impossible to replace, or to replace with something of equal quality, even if it isn't something I use everyday. So I have accumulated a substantial amount of tools for various trades and crafts.
On the other hand, I become increasingly less likely to keep anything for which I can't foresee any practical or pleasurable use. I have less sentimental attachment to the thing itself, so practicality is the ruling factor. If the sentimentality of something "frivolous" is particularly precious, I try to condense or repurpose it... take a picture of it to keep instead of keeping the thing, keep a token part of it rather than whole item, make it part of something useful/practical.
We've become a humanistic society. Humanism which teaches that the end goal of all things is man's happiness. If it feels good, do it! If something makes us happy, we should do it, have it or say it. Anything else is lack of self-control, which in modern words is, "Don't you dare come between me and what I want!" "Wants" have become a "right." They're classified right up there with needs, like food, clothing and shelter.
... commonplace use of the term hedonism often refers to a lifestyle oriented only towards selfish momentary pleasures.
<snip>
Ethical hedonism is the idea that all men have the right to do everything in their power to achieve the greatest amount of pleasure possible to them.
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