** Last spring saw the publication of the very first book in a six novella dystopian series I’ve been working on since early 2015. “Dark World : The Surface Girl” only $0.99 on kindle, or FREE if you’re a part of Kindle Unlimited! Check it out! The second installment is coming late fall 2016 and there is FREE “Dark World” bonus content right here on this blog!
For the sake of blogging and self-exploration and contemplation, I answer a question a day off of this list.
Today’s question : Do you own your things or do your things own you?
This question confused me and I’m not even entirely sure what it’s asking, but as per usual I’ll go with my own interpretation and let my thoughts spill out onto the paper (er, computer screen..) with hopes that they are more like word-formed cake sprinkles rather than word vomit. 😉
Three years ago, I moved to a new state. I packed up all of my possessions into boxes and then packed a few duffels to take with me immediately on the airplane, just some necessities and very few trinkets of sentimental value to me. I left my tons of boxes with my former roommate and asked her to send them to me in a few weeks when I could provide her some money for shipping.
I ended up letting her keep whatever she wanted from those boxes and told her she could toss or give away whatever she didn’t want. When I moved, I realised how little I actually missed so many things I assumed were important to me, and I decided that for a while, I would try to live as simply as possible in order to get away with the attachment so many of us have to material possessions. I wanted to live with as little possessions as possible for a while.
It really did cleanse my soul, so to speak, to rid my life of the physical “junk.” It took me a while to figure out the same concept on an emotional level, about a year nad a half after shedding most of my possessions, but it is a lesson that changed me as a person and a lesson I embrace and appreciate more than anything. I moved again about a year and a half ago. I live in the city in a small but nice apartment and I won’t lie, I’ve acquired more stuff, but everything I have is something that is useful to me either on a practical basis or an artistic basis. I try to spend my time on money on experiences rather than on “things” and I try to help others in need when I’m able to. I keep it simple. When I spoil with “things,” it’s not myself I’m spoiling but my pets.
Essentially, I don’t consider myself a materialistic person, and I’ve moved past the typical American notion that STUFF = SUCCESS. I don’t need STUFF to feel like I’m succeeding in life, I need peace. Peace is what tells me if I’m being successful in life or not, and I’m glad for the experiments I’ve tried and the lessons they have taught me. My things don’t own me, that’s for sure, but I don’t even know that I’d say I own my things. They’re mine while they’re useful to me, and when they are no longer useful, I will give them to someone who will find them useful once again. Things are just things to me, they are not ME, they do not define me or control me. I would actually recommend the “shed your material possessions” to a lot of people. When you take away that element of American life, you have a chance to really focus on who you are as a person. Trust me, it helps!
Kell Frillman - Author 