Friday, December 13, 2013

Too much of everything...


For years I have been decluttering, giving away,
Pruning, selecting, dumping, and yet
Everywhere I look, I see
Too much of everything.

Maybe it is time that passes,
Maybe it is a small personal crisis,
Maybe it is, too, that craving
For a fresh start...

I love objects, I love presents, I am not denying
All the beauties and comfort of the times
I live in. No, I am not an extremist,
I shun extremes as they don't usually
Avail too much good.

But when it comes to stuff, I think
We have too much, far too much
Of everything. Sometimes my heart
Skips a little beat, when I read things
Like this...and that...or this..

Do you feel this, too? Do you feel you have
Too much? In a way that stuff hides stuff,
Objects are buried beneath objects,
Clothes beneath clothes. As I look around,
I see too many beauty products in my bathroom,
Too many clothes in the closet,
Too many papers in my desk drawers,
Too many toys in my kids' room.
I don't want my house to be a desert,
A barren land following strict rules,
I don't want to lack in anything, but...

What do these objects represent, once there are
Too many of them: easily thrown away, piled or
Forgotten? Easily lost? Not to mention all the work,
Cost and waste they might entail...

When I have less things, I find my way
More easily, my mind is more at rest,
My kids find again toys they had tucked away,
My daughters enjoying wearing again that jumper
That had been stashed under a shelf.
The house breathes, and each object we have
Recovers its deserved value: emotional,
Sentimental, possibly financial.
Every object finds again the place
It owns in our home. None is hidden,
Neglected, forlorn.

Maybe I am drifting more and more
To a zen-aspiring place, in my mind,
In my home. I realize tons of money
Are spent on useless stuff, tons of
Time are wasted on meaningless stuff.
While our real riches are our time,
And the way we spend it. And how can
Our kids grow up in a balanced way, in a world
Dominated by consumption, advertising, competition?
There is not only working to make money,
There is also a whole world of appreciating
Really, deeply, the things we have. Giving them
Real value, consideration.

It's like, you know, the tree that hides
The forest...We lose track of things.
Do you also feel, that you have too much
Of everything?


This is a picture of the dojo where I take two of my kids.
It has brought us lots of happiness over the last few months. 
See...an empty space, but vibrant and alive with many, many laughters and memories.