I am in a slump. Almost a depression really. My life is complicated. Aren't all our lives complicated? We have bills to pay, gas to buy, cars to fix, mortgages to pay, sports for the kids, exercise for ourselves, health concerns.....on and on and on. It never seems to end.
Lately, I find myself getting tired of the rat race. I'm tired of trying to keep up with the "Jonses". Every time I turn around I'm bombarded with advertisements from all directions telling me I need this new thing or that shiny thing. It's constant and in all areas of my life. Take my passion of photography for instance. I'm constantly being made to feel like my camera gear is inadequate. I listen to a lot of podcasts about photography and so many photographers get hung up on gear that it becomes the focus of the process. I believe that the gear is secondary to the vision and creativeness of the artist. Sure it will help but the top of the line camera won't make a photo of a boring subject any more interesting.
It's everywhere. My fridge isn't good enough, my stove isn't hot enough. My truck isn't tough enough. Don't even get me started on what society thinks about how I raise my kids and what they need and want! That's a can of worms we shall not open here. Or ever on the internet for that matter!
I look around my house and I realize there is stuff everywhere. Literally everywhere. Clutter, clutter, clutter. I don't blame my wife, she's conditioned to this by society as well. I am starting to realize this though and I think that's the key. It's not just in the house either, my garage is insane. I have tools that I used once but I had to buy it not borrow it. Why? Why did I feel the need to own that tool instead of just borrowing one or using a simpler tool? Case in point, I have a compound mitre saw that I used for a week or so when I replaced the baseboards in our previous house. That was, hmmm, 10 years ago! I bet I've used it 3 or 4 times since then! But I had to buy it! I could have rented it for less and not had it sitting around since then.
I have been in this slump like I said for a couple of days now. I thought maybe it was just because work is very slow right now and I spend most of the day wishing I was doing something else but that's not it. Honestly, I just can't keep going with the consumerism. Spend, spend, spend. You need this, you need that, everything is made to be replaced. Why do we need it in the first place?
I bet most of us would be happier with having less and doing more. I think I would. Doing more to me means taking my kids to far off places so they can see what life is like there. Playing with them more than buying them something to play with. Going on a trip with my wife. Just us. We never had a proper honeymoon. We couldn't afford it. I want to live my life with passions not with possessions. I think it's time to make some changes. I need to declutter my life and start to live more simply.
Fine, there it is. I'm going to simplify. That said, what does that mean for me? Well that's the hard part. I'm going to start by not buying anything new for the month of February and see what that feels like. I'm also going to start attacking my current possessions and see what I can get rid of to start the decluttering.
That's a good start. My recognition of this problem will go a long way to helping me change my life and start moving forward again. I've rambled on enough for today. I'll keep you posted with how my simplification goes.
Chris.
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