THINGS that Matter

We surround ourselves with things, cars, furniture, clothing, electronics.  And if we are honest, we all probably have too many things, things that we don’t really need.  But there are things in our lives that matter, for various reasons.

Some of the things that matter to me have to do with memories of people and places.  I have photographs all over my home.  Photographs of my family and friends and places I’ve been, and all of these things matter to.  I have things that belonged to my father and grandparents that matter, a desk, a ring, a contact lens case.  Books are also things that matter to me and I have books cases filled will books I read when I was 12, signed books by my favorite authors, and classics that I read over and over again.

The window in the photo is another thing that matters to me.  It was given to me for my 40^th birthday by a very dear and close friend.  It hangs in my living room and it makes me happy when I look at.

The frames in the other photo are something I just recently started.  In those frames is sand from different beaches I’ve visited.  They hang next to my bed.  I look at them every morning when I wake up and every night before I go bed.  They remind me of happy times and that one day I want to live close to the beach and the ocean.

In the last couple of years I have really tried not to buy things that don’t matter and that I don’t need.  Yes, there are things that are necessities but what about everything else?  We all know we buy things to make us feel better; because we saw it in a magazine, or it’s the newest, trendiest thing, but do these things a really matter?

I recently saw an Nate Berkus interviewed.  He is the interior design who became famous after being on Oprah and who lost his partner in the December 2004 tsunami.  He wrote a book called “Things That Matter.”  He said a couple of things that stuck with me.  First, surround yourself with things that bring you joy.  Newest gadget may be entertaining but do they really brining you joy?  And second, stop a moment before you purchase anything, a piece of furniture, clothing, toys and think about whether you really need it.

Why do we hold on to so many things that don’t really matter?