Streamlining

I don't own a TV any more and let me just say it took me a long time to figure out how to arrange my living room furniture after I sold it. It's so much more convenient to watch shows online on my laptop. This is especially true now I have wireless internet, although I still have my Place Where I Sit To Watch TV that I tend to gravitate to - it's hard for my brain to realize I could, in fact, watch it in the bath if I so chose (and was careful not to accidentally activate skype).

Today I was trying to finish some new sets of envelopes for my Etsy shop. I'm a little tired of making these envelopes - I'm a little fickle with my craft pursuits (as with everything else) - so this might be my last batch. As I cut and glued I watched a couple of episodes of Consumed, a new de-cluttering show. These people don't live in abject squalor like in some of these shows, they just have too much Stuff and, of course, have some kind of psychological reason for being attached to their stuff. Every time I watch I start scanning the room for things I can skim off my possession list and give away as a cleansing ritual. I happen to think I'm quite good at not accumulating stuff but I usually find some bits and pieces to get rid of.

And it's not just physical stuff, when it comes down to it: what are the habits, thoughts, beliefs, behaviours I hold on to that I don't need any more, that are cluttering my life, my vision? Stop comparing myself to others, stop imagining worst case scenarios, watch fewer tv shows, that sort of thing.

The native [people] of some Asian countries have a tradition of trapping monkeys by placing a piece of fruit in a gourd, with a small hole bored in its side, that is tied to the ground. Monkeys reach in for the fruit, but by grabbing it, and thereby making a fist, they can't get their hands out of the gourds... If the monkeys would only let go of the fruit, they could escape, but for some reason this doesn't enter their monkey minds and it costs them their lives. We are only a notch up the evolutionary ladder and often act as if we, too, are hardwired with the same suicidal attachments.

Gregg Levoy ~ Callings