Love this Emily. Holding things lightly is perfect.
Your thoughts remind me of a book I read years ago called “Sebastian” by Anne Bishop. One of the main themes in the book is to take care with what you carry in your heart because it becomes part of the landscape. It’s a wonderful dystopian future type of book where the world has been split apart into “landscapes”. Each landscape is arrived at by crossing a bridge, and what you are carrying in your heart is what determines where you end up on the other side of the bridge.
I do this thing when I read interesting things, and say "Ooooohhhh" out loud. And that's exactly what I did while reading your lovely comment.
What a fascinating plot and analogy, and I'll be adding that book to my reading list. The things we carry physically can say a lot about what we carry in our hearts, and I for one let go of a lot of guilt and attachment when I got rid of so much of what I'd been physically carrying around in those boxes. Doing so made my heart finally and more fully ready to cross bridges into my next chapter. Thanks so much for what you shared!
SO glad I helped you go Oooooooohhhh. (I do that too!🤗)
Sebastian is an old book, I hope you can find it. She wrote two books in this series, took a long break and wrote the third (which I have not read yet). I think it’s time to go back and reread them both
Magical piece, so timely for us. Thank you, Emily.
Hitting 70, with two moves in the last eight years, I’ve been able to donate some and bin lots of the “weight” of my past life.
My wife has doubled down on memories and has stuffed every open space with something. Shrinking from 3,700 sf, to 2,200 sf, to 1,450 hasn’t changed our belongings footprint enough.
That “Judy” from her grandmother? Never used in 40+ years.
All those CDs? Rarely played.
Cooking for two doesn’t require 17 linear feet of cookbooks does it? (I need be careful here as I am a direct beneficiary of her fabulous cooking).
I will take your example, with thanks & reference, and challenge her to take pictures of what is important and tell me again that she doesn’t want to leave the burden of clearing her stuff away to the offspring!
Thanks for your appreciation, and your comment, Alan. I bet that has felt really good to let go of some of the "weight" of the past, and likely made your moves or settling in a bit easier.
Your wife sounds like someone I'd like to hang out with as I'm getting the idea she makes a cozy home. Our relationships with "stuff" is so interesting, aren't they? What we each hold on to and don't want to be without. But know rationally we have to one day live without/leave behind!
I hope this sparks some good conversation and maybe some ideas for you and your wife. Thanks again for taking the time to write this thoughtful comment.
Have you ever had to go—for an extended period of time—without things that make your life easier or more comfortable? What was that like for you?
Jordan Peterson -- or maybe an AI voice based on him -- recently dealt with a closely-related question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C_zq4DGSP0 15 minutes.
He invokes "decision fatigue," a useful concept.
Thanks for sharing that, Paul. The decision fatigue associated with our "things" is so real!
Loved hearing about your travel-light adventures, and so great to 'meet you' on the Writers@Work zoom call on Saturday :)
Thanks so much, Ellen. It was so great to meet you on Zoom--you feel like a kindred spirit in many ways!
Love this Emily. Holding things lightly is perfect.
Your thoughts remind me of a book I read years ago called “Sebastian” by Anne Bishop. One of the main themes in the book is to take care with what you carry in your heart because it becomes part of the landscape. It’s a wonderful dystopian future type of book where the world has been split apart into “landscapes”. Each landscape is arrived at by crossing a bridge, and what you are carrying in your heart is what determines where you end up on the other side of the bridge.
I do this thing when I read interesting things, and say "Ooooohhhh" out loud. And that's exactly what I did while reading your lovely comment.
What a fascinating plot and analogy, and I'll be adding that book to my reading list. The things we carry physically can say a lot about what we carry in our hearts, and I for one let go of a lot of guilt and attachment when I got rid of so much of what I'd been physically carrying around in those boxes. Doing so made my heart finally and more fully ready to cross bridges into my next chapter. Thanks so much for what you shared!
SO glad I helped you go Oooooooohhhh. (I do that too!🤗)
Sebastian is an old book, I hope you can find it. She wrote two books in this series, took a long break and wrote the third (which I have not read yet). I think it’s time to go back and reread them both
Wonderfully said!! Where are you going to stay
Thanks a bunch! I'll be in a suburb south of Salt Lake City
Henry David Thoreau was also good at living without much stuff. He had his essentials.
Ah, Henry! I would like to read more about his life pre- and post-Walden Pond.
Magical piece, so timely for us. Thank you, Emily.
Hitting 70, with two moves in the last eight years, I’ve been able to donate some and bin lots of the “weight” of my past life.
My wife has doubled down on memories and has stuffed every open space with something. Shrinking from 3,700 sf, to 2,200 sf, to 1,450 hasn’t changed our belongings footprint enough.
That “Judy” from her grandmother? Never used in 40+ years.
All those CDs? Rarely played.
Cooking for two doesn’t require 17 linear feet of cookbooks does it? (I need be careful here as I am a direct beneficiary of her fabulous cooking).
I will take your example, with thanks & reference, and challenge her to take pictures of what is important and tell me again that she doesn’t want to leave the burden of clearing her stuff away to the offspring!
Thanks for your appreciation, and your comment, Alan. I bet that has felt really good to let go of some of the "weight" of the past, and likely made your moves or settling in a bit easier.
Your wife sounds like someone I'd like to hang out with as I'm getting the idea she makes a cozy home. Our relationships with "stuff" is so interesting, aren't they? What we each hold on to and don't want to be without. But know rationally we have to one day live without/leave behind!
I hope this sparks some good conversation and maybe some ideas for you and your wife. Thanks again for taking the time to write this thoughtful comment.