100 Things

The night I got home from my mission I was exhausted. It had been a long day, week, two years. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. As I walked in the door to my 'new' home, my exhaustion was stripped away. I had been expecting a clash as I returned to a different world, but what I experienced was even more than I had been prepared for.

The culture shock was overpowering, even in my own front room. I was overwhelmed. Just walking into the house was like wading through a flood. I could feel things crowding in on me. I was surrounded by things. Closets, Shelves, Tables, Counters, not to mention the cavernous recesses of the Garage. Everywhere I looked there were THINGS.

I had become accustomed to living with very little. I was not prepared for such an overflow of possessions.

Was there something wrong with this? No, I don't really think there is anything wrong with having possessions and things at all. However, I do think that as our possessions accumulate we tend to appreciate less and less what those possessions mean. For instance when you choose to buy or make something why are you doing it? Is it to own a new knick-knack? To improve the quantity of things, or the quality of our lives? Or is it to find a new way of doing something or of relating yourself to the world? Either way it is far too easy to become engulfed in the thing itself, and then to need something else to compliment that thing, and another, and another, ad naseum.

That being said, I am intrigued by the efforts and plan being utilized by this man. Check out the links to his own blog and information on the challenge (I could post the links here, but that would take all the death-defying-fun out of the search). I like his premise, not sure that I agree with everything that he is throwing out there- but I think that is his point. It is a personal challenge, and he is merely trying to show us his response to what is an important issue.

I'm not looking for your own list of 100 items–although if you feel inspired I'd encourage you to go for it. My own list would be hard enough to think through-I'd HAVE to include all my books as one thing (my library), unless I could get my hands on a Kindle or something to start making my collection a virtual collection instead. Like I said, I like the idea that he has put forth even if I don't necessarily buy in to his particular vision.