STUFF

I was rearranging some book shelves recently and came across a book I had read years ago. It’s by Tom Wolfe, called “The Right Stuff,” and it’s about some astronauts. According to Wolfe, they had “the right stuff.” I thought about that word, “stuff.” It’s an amazing word, because it covers so much territory. Now, I’m sure I don’t have the right stuff, like an astronaut. But I do have stuff. Lots of it. You probably have lots of stuff too. What exactly is stuff? It’s anything and everything. Big, small, new, old, useful, useless... doesn’t matter. That’s why it’s such a wonderful word.
It seems the older you get, the more stuff you have. In fact, you probably have stuff you don’t remember you had. Here’s something I bet you didn’t know. When people no longer want a large house and realize they should down size, the reason most of ‘em don’t is because they need space for their stuff. How you gonna put 40 years of stuff into a 2-bedroom condo. It can’t be done.
That’s why there are public storage units. You see them everywhere. For 40 or 50 bucks a month, you rent a locker, which is like a prison cell, and you put all your stuff in there. Pile it to the ceiling ... all kinds of stuff you don’t really need but you might someday, and you just can’t throw it away and it’s too much trouble to sell it. Although people have gotten past that, thanks to eBay. What a brilliant idea that was. A worldwide operation that’s built on people selling their stuff.
Want more proof that we’re held hostage by our stuff? Check out Target or WalMart. Go to the storage container aisle. What do you see? Rows and rows of plastic containers. All shapes and sizes, with and without lids, flip top or slide out. From shoe box size to mega-box car size. And all designed for one purpose: to hold your stuff.
So what are we to do with all our stuff?
The answer is - nothing. We’re helpless. We can’t get rid of it. We all need to be surrounded by our stuff. I think it’s genetic, part of the human condition, like needing food, shelter, water, chocolate. I don’t know if people in Brazil or Turkey or Finland need lots of stuff, but I bet they do. It’s just different kinds, that’s all. Next time you go down into your basement and see all those shelves filled with things you haven’t touched for years, don’t feel bad. Be proud of your stuff. It just proves you’re human. That’s how I see it.