Stuff

I was talking to a friend of mine after church yesterday and he told me about the epiphany he had had in the past few months about our society's apparent need for stuff. Stuff that we bring home from the shops and don't really use. Stuff that we are given that we don't want or has no real use in our life. Stuff that we don't use anymore, but we keep it "just in case". Stuff that accumulates in our cupboards, under our houses, in our sheds, under our beds...everywhere. He was appalled by it and by the fact that he is one of those people.
I agreed with him. I absolutely HATE stuff!!! I am not a hoarder and get rid of things as soon as I don't use or need them anymore. Even so, there is still stuff in my house. Sitting here, I look around the room and see stuff that I haven't used for ages, and may never use again. It's there "just in case". Well guess what, it's leaving my house in the new year. I know how stuff affects me. It makes me feel claustraphobic, depressed, unmotivated, tied down, irritated, like my house is never tidy... I've realised that the less stuff someone has, the happier they are. If someone is a collector of stuff, their need for it grows and grows and they are never, ever satisfied with what they do have. Who wants to be like that? Not me, that's for sure. Who wants to raise their children to be like that? Definately not me. Unfortunately, they have already started wanting stuff they don't need. It's almost a losing battle. I say 'almost' because there is still time for me to teach them not to want everything and only have what they need.
This Christmas people will be getting more stuff. Stuff they don't really want or need  or they'll use it once or twice and then it will be added to their collection of other stored stuff.
Advertising companies have an awful lot to answer for. They are so clever. They make us think that we need stuff. All kinds of stuff. And then the next big thing comes along and we are made to think that we need that too. And so it goes on and on and...