“No
man has a right to monopolize more than he can enjoy.”
~ Percy Blythe Shelley
Occasionally, we learn lessons
over a period of time. As more
information is gathered, digested and pondered, there is a progression of
thought that brings us to some type of logical conclusion and from time to
time, an epiphany. This type of
progressive lesson began for me in the second half of 2012. As long summer days gave way to the chill of
fall, it became necessary to transition my summer wardrobe from my cramped
closet to accommodate cooler temperatures and the emergence of winter.
In
pulling things from tightly packed racks, I realized there were items that had
been completely overlooked during the summer because they were buried behind
the sheer volume of “things” and could not be seen. (I am giving the impression that my closet is
large, which it is not.) However, the way it was originally designed created a
fair amount of dead space in the corners making it difficult to see what was
there. About the same time I started
this project, I ran across the quote by Percy Shelley in a magazine. How much can one really enjoy and what does
enjoy really mean? Does enjoy mean to
like, or is it deeper; such as things we use over and over and over because they
are dear to us? These questions took
root and floated around in my mind for days.
Simplicity rang true to my senses reminding me it is probably impossible
to thoroughly “enjoy things” that cannot even be seen.
Making things visible seemed
like a reasonable place to start. It was
at that moment that my “Less is More” campaign of the past year or so transitioned
to “If I Can’t See It, I Don’t Need It.”
Without hesitation, I pulled two clothing rods from my closet and
decided that even with less space to hang my clothes, I probably couldn’t wear
all the things on the two rods that remained.
Only things that I “really like” and that “really fit” could go into my newly
downsized closet. The rest was donated
to various charities.
A similar dilemma existed with a
bulging bin of scarves, a pile of shoes and a box of tangled costume
jewelry. How can I enjoy things or
remember to wear things I cannot even see?
My jewelry was soon organized onto a framed piece of corkboard and
bracelets and necklaces were hung on a board mounted with drawer pulls from my
favorite store, Anthropology. I could
see every pair of earrings and every necklace.
Scarves were sorted, folded and stacked in a shoe organizer. Suddenly I could see every single thing that
was in my closet. A sense of pride was
felt with my streamlined and organized space.
I now felt like I was on my way to following Shelley’s challenge to not
monopolize more than I can enjoy. What began as a closet organizaation endeavor (or so I thought), took a sharp turn to the right.
Recently I took a trip to Nepal
to participate in a dental humanitarian project in the rural Lamjung district. After our initial arrival into Kathmandu, we spent
a few days recovering from some long flights before heading into the villages. My husband and I walked the streets in the very
early morning because we were still wrestling with another time zone. On the dusty streets of Kathmandu, before the
city woke to the crazy chaos of vendors, traffic and noise, I noticed a young
boy sorting through garbage with his bare hands. He was pulling out all the organic garbage;
watermelon rinds, pieces of tomato, bread scraps, etc. Third world countries have many elements that
assault our sensitivities and this was one of them. I could not get this little boy off my mind
and will forever remember those beautiful big, brown eyes and that precious
brown little hand sorting through the wet garbage from the streets.
The next morning I saw the same
little boy with his parents once again sorting not only wet and smelly, organic
garbage but cardboard, glass, etc. and placing it on a large cart. My hope is that there is a sorting system in
Kathmandu providing some kind of revenue for this sweet family. The alternative is too heartbreaking to even
consider. Regardless of the reason for
collecting and sorting the garbage, this young boy was actively participating in the very
survival of his family. Suddenly my “If
I Can’t See It, I Don’t Need It” mantra seemed incredibly selfish and
unreasonable. What do I give to those in
need? Do I only toss away my
scraps? I have so much that I hold onto that I don’t
need, wear or use. What am I waiting
for? I have kept countless things for a
variety of reasons that someone could have been using. Countless things have never or hardly been
worn or used. Instead they have been
hanging in that black hole in my closet or tucked away in a box taking space
season after season.
Paring down my possessions to
things I can “see”, is merely justification to keep far more of those
possessions than I can really “enjoy.”
Suddenly I had a new definition for the word "enjoy." To be allowed to have as much as can be enjoyed is really
quite generous. To have more, borders on
gluttony. Therein lies the challenge for
a society with abundance and a people whose habits include acquisition of
personal possessions and consumption of goods.
The
test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who
have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little. ~ Franklin
D. Roosevelt
Working with some of God’s most humble children, gave me clarity in the way I live my life, accumulate things I have convinced myself I need and cast off the things I don’t. My pockets, my closets, my pantries are deep in many respects both literally and figuratively. There is much that I can give and donate to those who, as Shelley suggested would love the opportunity to thoroughly "enjoy" them.
photo credit - House Beautiful Magazine
No comments:
Post a Comment