hilitehead

I never realized the importance of maintaining a mobile load until college. Moving every year with over a dozen boxes made me realize that I am somewhat of a hoarder. Considering all the time and effort that go into packing I noticed just how much I don’t really need, let alone the financial strain it brings with the Uhaul rentals and back and forth parcel costs. But the problems don’t end there – having too many possessions offer too many choices which all end up taking much deserved time and attention from ones life. Every morning I would lose that much time with coordinating clothes and cleaning the closet, followed by laundry, and the need to buy new clothes, and so on. Even shoes start to become decorational motifs after a while and a very heavy burden to box. Trinkets and small furniture seem perfect and crucial at first, but upon packing you realize just how much of it you can do without.

In a moment of fortunate haste, I finally decided to do something about it this past Spring with a brave outlook and one goal in mind – to minimize everything to fit into six standard boxes. Foremost, I focused on keeping a simple wardrobe sorting though the piles of stuff I wear, stuff I don’t, and stuff with sentimental value. The rest I shipped to my sister as hand me downs. With shoes – I kept three pairs, donating half to secondhand stores, and the rest to sell. Much of the furniture and things that took up space but served no use, such as racks, containers, and small paraphernalia I threw out, and by the end of it all, I had disposed of seven boxes, with six remaining. I breezed by through the rest of spring and into summer, knowing that I was free from the clutches of material possessions. I rejoiced in my renewed simplicity, content with owning a few simple clothes, a light backpack and a spacious room.

I learned that the key with limiting material possessions lie in determining the difference between need and want. The deep and sometimes painful cleaning is much-needed for anyone who wants to clear out space in their home, their life, their heart, and in their head to free room to enjoy the beautiful experiences of life. The Straits Times recalls on this subject:

“Increases in material possessions may well be accompanied by a decrease in happiness. This phenomenon, termed the ‘hedonic treadmill’, says that as possessions increase, so do people’s expectations. Over time, people become less sensitized towards their possessions and require even more new possessions just to sustain the same level of happiness as before.”

So what generates sustainable happiness in us? Research has shown that experiences outweigh material goods in generating happiness. Such experiences can be the things we truly enjoy and hold dear to our heart. The reason for this is that experiences are far more central and possess greater social value to one’s identity than the acquisition of material goods, which only last to benefit the individual without much social interaction. As we eventually die and rot in the ground, so does our stuff. Material existences therefore hold no long-term purpose (no meta-narrative) or meaning. From a more spiritual perspective, material bodies remain temporary in nature while the human soul is eternal. And any satiation that the human body gets from stuff is essentially pointless in the long run. Hence the reason why so many people die unfulfilled – wrapped up in their material possession. So without further ado, I pass this message onto you, limit your material possessions and enjoy the many freedoms it can bring!