My husband likes to quote
Fight Club every now and then. I never saw it or read it, but I get it. I'm not my fucking khakis. I read over the in-your-face, admonishing take control quotes from Fight Club over at
The Minimalists. It's a bit preachy, but all in all I agree. So why then do I spend untold hours mooning over stuff on
Pinterest? This is a disconnect and I'm trying to muddle through it. I know I need to be more present in the moment instead of dreaming about my perfect master bathroom that will only happen with a sizable home equity loan. (Aside: being present is not something I do easily, thank you ADD!) I am cognizant that I am failing at the whole Zen thing. (My husband also likes to quote Buddah. Be a reed in the water. It get's old after so many obvious failures, but I know he's trying to be supportive.) We have come a long way, however. I look around me and mostly see - in our house - furniture and the kids' artwork and toys. We attempt to escort paper from the mailbox to the recycling bin on a direct flight. It's not totally minimalist, but we're getting there.
I also realize, I (hooray for me) am not a hoarder.
Unclutterer checks out a
Washington Post article by self-professed hoarder, Michael Rosenwald, and cheers him on for not being his stuff. I don't buy things like crazy and stuff them in crannies all over the house. I've even stopped going on my weekly Target runs. (Again, yay me.) But most of all, I am relieved to realize and announce to you that I am not my stuff. For if I were my stuff, what would it likely say about me?
For starters, it would say, "I'm broken." Or, "I'm stained beyond wearing." Or even, "I'm broken and stained." In a better case scenario it would say, "Hi, I'm Amy. I am a pristine LP of Nena's "99 Luftballons" (a gag gift from my husband) sitting atop a box marked "Wedding." In said box, I am a slog of unprinted negative sheets (dating myself) from my 2001 wedding. If I am my stuff, I am a sad sack of unfinished projects and silly-assed crap.
But, fortunately, I'm not my stuff.
Damn, I loved that song.
I find it so inspiring that you are able to share so much about your ADD. I have an anxiety disorder, and I know how challenging it can be to share the details. We need more people in the world like you!
ReplyDelete- M
http://blackberrymilk.com
Thank you so much for your comment, Monica. I, too, have an anxiety disorder. In fact, I discovered it much sooner than I did the ADD, but I really believe they go hand-in-hand. It's just a chicken/egg situation: I don't which one came first. I really hope that my honesty and humor about my own challenges can help others not feel so alone and perhaps laugh at their foibles. Otherwise, we're left paying a lot of money to therapists! Take care and thank you so much for your kind words.
Delete-Amy