Accumulation

 Moving makes one think about things. Stuff. Objects. The flotsam and jetsam of a life in this consumerist, capitalist world.

We've maintained a storage unit in Paradise since before the fire. The initial plan was to move all our stuff into our next place (we were in-between homes at the time), but then the fire happened, then we couldn't find a rental the size of our previous two rentals, and then we were only able to downsize and not to actually sort through our things. Months turned into years, and there it sat. We'd go there occasionally to retrieve something or other. But there just wasn't the room in this current home to put these things. Meanwhile, at our current house the accoutrements of life piled up, between random freebies that we accumulated, unnecessary (but certainly well-meaning) gifts from family members and friends, the leftovers from this craft and that planned-for idea... this stuff is all around us, a sea that us fish can't see until we're moving from one pond to the next. Oh my, how much clutter there is! how quickly it grows!

We have done better at weeding out what isn't needed in our lives, I believe, though it's taken quite a lot of effort and it feels much more of a two-steps forward, one-step back type scenario. When we moved out of our house in Crescent City several years ago, we got a 26' Uhaul and packed it to the gills, then drove our vehicles packed to the gills on a round trip or two (or three? I can't recall) in order to get everything out. This time we're moving a lot less cubic yards of stuff, so we must have achieved something in moving the needle from consumerist chaos towards minimalist bliss. But only ever-so-slightly. The lure of projects yet to be made, the overabundance of clothes that only suit particular moods, the clinging to things because of the strange emotional associations of the psyche... all of these continue to ravage the would-be empty spaces in our home. The most interesting observation of married life: when one of us is ready to part with something, the other is still holding on, even when it doesn't make sense. Perhaps someday these tendencies will be quieter and more the loser than the victor. Perhaps that shift is already in progress.

Today I went on the fb and scrolled the ignominious "home page". Every few posts it sought to entice me to add something to my home. Awhile back I got off ig because of the prevalence of the advertising. I wanted to see and hear from my friends, not get convinced that I needed to drink "Mud water" (whatever the heck that is). And the more time I spend on fb, the more I see these same advertisements chasing me around, breaking down my resistance to over-consumption. Meanwhile, I rarely feel that I glean much of real contact from the platform, whilst I gather (from the complaints I hear after periodic parings down of my "friends" list) that a decent number of people use it to gather information on me and what I'm up to... Still, even in social media my life accumulates. I've been going in and deleting my "memories" whenever they come up, reducing my online footprint. This has been ongoing for at least six months now, I think. Yet it doesn't feel like enough...

I'm tired of the fb, guys. I was off it before and perfectly pleased. The only reason I got on it again was to make sure I knew when roller derby practices were cancelled. Well, I don't live in Crescent City anymore and I'm no longer on the roller derby team. So I find it very tempting, as we approach a new year, to ditch the fb once more, delete my account and call it a wrap, start 2022 with one less social media burden. For those desiring to look me up, the blog will still be here. And I don't think Jack will be getting off fb anytime soon either. I have no intention of changing my email address or my cell phone number at present, and if I did I would be sure to let everyone who communicates with me on either one know. But I just can't honestly say that fb adds anything beneficial to my life that isn't there without it, while I know that it draws my attention away from activities I could be doing, like exercising, crafting, writing, or connecting with friends in real life.

This isn't a final, official decision. I'm still weighing it out. But I've been thinking heavily on this lately, and it feels like the right thing to do for myself at this time. When I do make my mind up, I'll be sure to post about it so folks have the opportunity to be in the loop and know how to "follow" me or connect with me or whatever else. But consider this a heads up. If you don't know how to contact me outside of this platform, and you want to, now is a good time to reach out.

Until next time!