I have been packing all my things into boxes and suitcases, some of which I am taking with me and some of which I’ll store away until I have a permanent space of my own. It was much easier this time, deciding what to keep, what to pack, and what to throw away. It’s probably because I am tired of having so much clutter and attachment. That was necessary when I was in school, with assignments, reports and documentation that I was always preparing, but now it just seems… wrong. Coupled with a stronger sense of “coming back into the world” than I have ever felt, is the feeling that I need to “reconnect with myself.” Just writing that phrase conjures up a collage of self-help books and soothing TV ads, but that’s because clearly there is something to this concept. And why, with me right now and all the self-help book consumers, is getting in touch with yourself usually associated with getting rid of materialism?
My dad, though he violently gripes about SUV’s and most luxury products of any kind, designed his house as half barn so that he could store all of his possessions, and he has had to build two outbuildings to hold even more of it. Admittedly, this stuff, for instance crates of vintage trash novels and a chipped marble eagle, is both cool and not valuable. I am pretty sure he doesn’t do it for any kind of status, since his friends are decidedly anti-status. So, is he materialistic?
I enjoy the things I buy. The computer that I am using to type this post is sleek and sexy, and it often seduces me into spending more time than I should just figuring out how it works when I should be taking a walk at the Point. I’d really like to have a nice car with a fast engine and an aerodynamic body. (I’d really like to have any car at this point.) It would help me pick up chicks, and it would increase my social standing with my male peers, but I mostly just think about the feel of the leather interior and the way it would hum around curvy roads. Am I materialistic?
If someone asked my dad or me or anyone else about what was the most important thing in life, dime novels and iBooks probably wouldn’t even come up. I would bet that we would say something much more like “interpersonal relationships,” but the difference between these two categories isn’t exactly clear. I just gave an example of how the car would benefit my interpersonal relationships, and I can remember my dad having a great time clowning around with his friends while they showed each other some of the latest finds.
In my case, I am just glad to get rid of things that I hadn’t directly chosen to make a part of my life, like all the school assignments, misfitting clothes, and dust bunnies.
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