stuckinstuff

StuckInStuff Tip #3 - Losing a Day or Week is Fine, Anything More Is Not

This week our family has been battling sickness and busyness.  My wife commented that she "lost the week."  With all my guy wisdom and sympathy I replied, "That's ok."  (To my credit, I was nicer than that.  I'm just playing it up to make a point for my Stuck In Stuff tip.)

Hence Stuck In Stuff Tip #3 - Losing a day or a week in the fight against stuff is tolerable, anything beyond that is inexcusable.

Look, we all succumb to shop therapy - the irresistible urge to comfort buy.  And some people have weaknesses for gadgets.  Others like too many books.  Consumption pressures are always present.  Advertising, more than New York City, never sleeps.  It gets to us from time-time.

When I give in or when I feel too tired from a rough day or week to fight back, I chalk it up to a "lost day" or, in extreme cases, a "lost week."  More than that, though, and I'm going to fight back.  Spending weeks or months giving into stuff will not do.  So if you "lose" a day or a week for whatever reason, let it go.  Leave it behind and move on... without stuff.

StuckInStuff Tip #2 - Let The Last Words Be, “Let Go”

A conversation came up last night at church during a Justice Committee meeting, and I thought it would be worth mentioning on Stuck In Stuff.  Here’s the point: Sometimes you cannot justify yourself.  Sometimes you have to let go of the last word, stop trying to explain your point, and move on.  That’s a life skill that will revolutionize your relationships.  It’s the skill of being able to be intimate with people who do not know and understand you completely.

The idea of being close to someone who does not understand you completely is debilitating for many people.  It is utterly frightening.  As an example, for some people who have strong political opinions, they feel compelled to painstakingly explain why they hold a particular viewpoint.  When their friend responds, “I just don’t see it that way.  I don’t understand why you would think that way,” they feel a compulsion to attempt to explain again.  They exhaust every metaphor known to man.  They try every angle.  And when their friend still does not agree with them, they pause briefly and then attempt to explain themselves again and again and again.  People like this have a hard time with relationships.

In our consumer culture I believe that stuff plays into this problem.  Many people use stuff much the same way that people attempt to justify themselves.  More stuff often functions the same way as needing to get in the last word.

StuckInStuff Tip #1 - Start... anywhere with anything

This is Tip #1 in a new series of posts offering tips to help put stuff in its place.  In the Tips Series, I'll be offering ideas as well as tried-and-true practical examples on how you can get out from under the paralyzing effects of stuff.  The positive way of looking at it is that you can start living a more simple and meaningful life by prioritizing things other than material possessions.  So here goes...

Tip #1 - Start!

Sometimes I dread the day when some stranger who reads StuckInStuff.com shows up to my house... and sees the truth.  Honestly, with three jobs and three children and three pets, our house often looks, not just stuck in stuff but perpetually stuck in stuff.  It can be a bit discouraging at times.  But when I'm feeling low I remind myself of one truth that makes all the difference, I've made a start.  At some point in time years ago, I decided that I would try to wean myself off of stuff.  By God's grace I married a woman who embraces that vision.  And so together we've started and continue on a lifestyle of increasing our priority on making a meaningful contribution to the world and decreasing our emphasis on stuff.

You can start, too!  Just start putting stuff in its place.  Read a book about simplicity.  Turn off your TV for a month.  Every weekend skip going to the mall and go on a walk outside instead.  Write someone a thoughtful two-page letter instead of buying them a birthday gift they don't need.  Look into a charity that allows you to support a poverty stricken person or village.  Bring your own reusable shopping bags to the store.  Buy local foods and products.  Just start!  Start putting stuff in its place.