The Stuff You Own

1. “The house was on fire. It was all we could do to escape. I scooped up the cat, and escaped out the door with the kids. Everything we owned went up in the blaze.”

This is not a true story, but it has been true for others and I can’t imagine the feelings of loss.

A place called home, that you’ve settled into, dug in for life.

A place, or belongings that create a sense of identity.

For me, In some ways, I’d also be relieved.

I’m not a wealthy person, or someone who acquires “things,” especially expensive items. Thus, I’m not defined by my belongings, because most are replaceable.

I’ve owned many cars- I can’t remember how many, but they are just transportation. The same with clothes, appliances, etc. This is replaceable stuff. It’s going to wear out. It’s hard to part with items that were gifts (wanted or unwanted) or items handed down. Those belongings are hard to let go of due to a sense of duty. A cleansing fire would say:

Goodbye to grandma’s ugly rocking chair, and that grandfather clock that stopped working in 2012.

The kitchen that needed a renovation, the garage that was full of all that stuff I never seemed to get the time to throw away.

Grandpa’s broken pocket watch that, if he was alive, would have probably thrown away and he would have purchased an apple watch.

The children’s artwork from 2nd grade that they don’t remember creating and for some reason throwing it away would be an insult.

Disaster would do the dirty work, forcing me to part ways with belongings that are tied to me by events and memories. The items are not really of value- the memories are.

Years ago, my nephew wandered through the rooms of his grandfather after his passing. Looking over the boxes filled with his possessions, his aunt asked “Would you like anything to keep?”

He shrugged. “Nah,” he said. “I don’t need this stuff to remind me of who he was.”

When we die, everything we valued will have little or no value to others. You’ll carry nothing into the afterlife. Just ask King Tut. His personal stuff is in the Egypt Museum in Cairo, not on his head as his spirit fly fishes on the Nile.

Should my slate be wiped clean of personal belongings in a stoke of misfortune, I still am who I am. I have value as a person, I have skills. I have knowledge and memories. I have family or friends. I have a life.

I’ll buy more stuff if I need it, but knowing where I’m headed, I’ll buy much less.