Things that Bring You Joy

When you look at your things, your material possessions, what do you think? What do you feel?

Whenever I move, or help someone move, I always reconsider every object in my life and wonder whether or not it is worth keeping.

There are many objects that are "necessary goods" which means that we use them in our daily life and they are not negotiable. These goods can vary across cultures/societies but in general they fulfill needs like health and safety.

I don't want to focus on necessary goods right now, because the ones that we agonize over are the "luxury items" which mean that we hold onto them because of some desire or attachment. They're not vital for survival but they may satisfy other needs like our need for entertainment.

Isn't it nuts when you hold onto something, but it just gathers dust?
Well, this is a "gravestone" from Ben & Jerry's Flavor Graveyard;
 they know how to let things go when they're not working out.

There are many items that are things that "take up space" and not in a good way. We hold onto things and let it pile up, until we've forgotten what we own. Later we may go through it intending to get rid of things, but we are stopped when we think and contemplate, or find that we have some attachment that lingers with the object. "I'll keep it just a little while longer," we tell ourselves and then it ends up being years.

There is nothing wrong with being sentimental or having possessions, but when something no longer serves you - it is time to let go. That is something my mother always reminds me of when I tell her that I'm struggling to let go. "Keep the things that bring you joy," she says.

Recently I discussed this idea with a friend. Many objects that we hold onto are gifts and what I told my friend was that we feel an obligation to hold onto a gift because of the person that gave it to us. We can accept a gift gratefully, but that doesn't mean that it is something we must keep around forever.

Do people still handwrite thank you notes?
I'm not sure, but it has been a tradition with my family and we just keep doing it.
This was a thank you for a recommendation letter I received.
Although the letters are slightly falling down the page, I tried a fancy style to write it out. 

"It's not a gift if it comes with strings attached," I told my friend. "If you want to get rid of it, you should be able to without feeling guilty."

This was after I had given her something and I wanted to make sure that she didn't feel obligated to keep it, because I have trouble getting rid of things that people have given me. You feel as if the essence of that person and your relationship with them is tied into this gift. Ridiculous, right? Your relationship shouldn't be based on the material possessions exchanged between you, but on the moments of emotional vulnerability and trust that are truly precious and rare.

Put it this way. If your house was on fire or say a hurricane was on the way, what would you save? Do you think that the people who gave you gifts are going to care more about their gift than your safety?