THE STRUGGLE WITH SENTIMENTALITY

POST # 129


I was told not so long ago, that the most challenging aspect of getting rid of personal possessions was the degree of sentimentality that was attached to a particular item(s). This past week has given me the opportunity to prove that as true, at least for me.

This has come about due to the fact that the building in which I have my items stored will be demolished later this year and so me and a bunch of other people are faced with the task of either moving our possessions to somewhere else, or just letting them get bulldozed with the building, a thought which has crossed my mind on more than one occasion. The reason for the building's demise, is because Vancouver needs another condo of course. This particular one is meant to be 39 stories high. I'm speculating here, but I think that perhaps it will never get completed due to a variety of reasons, however I guess time will tell. Be that as it may, it was time to move my stuff.

It's not like I have much, a few photos, some bicycle tools, my bike and assorted other bits and pieces, plus some books. That about covers the list. I have brought these items here to my current housesit as I thought I would use the opportunity to discard items that I didn't want any longer. This has proved to be more difficult than I had originally thought, especially when it comes to photographs. It's really odd. None of my things, including the photographs have rarely seen the light of day in the past three years and so I thought it would be easy to just chuck out most of it. But it's the photos that cause the biggest challenge. Looking back on one's insignificant little life causes the sentimentality to rear its head.

But it has also been fun and nostalgic at the same time. The other night, my dear friend Ted came over for a visit, and when he walked in, and saw all the photos he got all excited about looking at them as well. He featured in a few as we have both been to similar places in Australia, so it was fun for the both of us to bring up old stories from the past. Two old adventurous farts telling each other old stories, while looking at old photos. I also stumbled across a couple of cassette tapes which have the audio version of my 43 day sailing journey across the Indian Ocean from Durban South Africa to Fremantle Australia from 2003 with my friends David and Anthony. Listening to the tapes brought back both good and bad memories.

So today I plan to finish going through my things so that I can decide what to keep and what goes to Value Village. I wonder how many times a particular item of clothing can be recycled through Value Village, before it becomes a cleaning rag? I must be one of their best customers, because they get to sell the same item more than once. This is a perfect time to quote Henry David Thoreau:
"I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes...", a quote which is written on the T-shirt I am currently wearing, which was a gift from my friend Mary. She purchased it when visiting Thoreau's old place on Walden Pond earlier this year. The irony of the quote on this shirt when it was new is slowly fading as is the shirt. Perhaps one day, it will end up at Value Village as well. Only then, will the quote be suitable.

That's enough for now. Time to get back to the task at hand and go out to the garage and continue my struggle with sentimentality.

Happy Trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer