Possessions
A kind of cage.
For a single guy living in a small place I have a lot of stuff. Most of the volume is books and pictures. But there is a lot of stuff in boxes and bags that I haven't looked at in years. I have mechanics tools. When will I ever need a torque wrench again? I have cupboard full of artists equipment and supplies. I have a residue of old computer bits like hard-drives and usb keys.
The problem is that none of this is junk. I can't just throw it in the garbage. Well - truth be told, as I sort through the stuff a certain percentage IS junk and I throw that out. But why discard something that is useful and that was expensive just because I'm not using it now? I've done that before and experienced remorse when I needed the discarded thing soon after.
I have a small amount of stuff from my childhood that I've carted back and forth across Canada several times.
A few years ago there was a woman writing about decluttering (her name escapes me) who advised looking at your possessions and discarding things that don't give you joy. I have the opposite problem - lots of things would give a pang if I discarded them. Easier to just keep them.
At least they are safe and warm here.
Getting rid of possessions is actually quite a bit of work. Even just sorting through things to find what to discard is laborious at best of times and is harder now that I'm an old guy. Selling things is work. And I have a lot of respect for people who are good at selling but that's not me.
I try to give things away but I find that everyone already has all they need. Sigh
25 years ago I printed for an American whose work is in many major collections. The custom in a situation like that is for the artist to give the printer an artists proof. Joe told me that the collection was worth maybe $250,000. I have no idea what to do with a possession like that. Now I would need to hire somebody to even open the box and look at the pictures. I'm trying to give them away. The Vancouver Art Gallery wants me to pay to photograph and document the work before they'll even think about accepting the donation.
I've been in this place for over 20 years now and it's quite stable. But it's also a bit like a very comfortable cage. Sometimes I think about living as a nomad in a camper van. I could probably afford it (if I had the van) but I'm stuck here.
My possessions are pretty passive. They don't require a lot of maintenance. Some possessions do require maintenance - like houses and cars. When I was a kid I made money mowing big lawns - that was maintenance and over the run of a summer would cost property owners a fair sum. I look at mansions sometimes in the news and those places need a LOT of maintenance.
And even if the owner is rich enough to hire a crew to do the labor it takes work to keep track of the crew.
My possessions are personal. My possessions are nothing like a mega-yacht or a jumbo jet. If you own things like that then you need a big crew but can be just cruising in a world of your own without social influence (as if!!!!) But what if your possession is a factory that is profitable but you close because you can invest the money MORE profitably elsewhere throwing lots of people out of work. Why not? It's your possession.
What if your possession gives you enough money to try to personally sway elections?
What do you think?
I present regular philosophy discussions in a virtual reality called Second Life.
I set a topic and people come as avatars and sit around a virtual table to discuss it.
Each week I write a short essay to set the topic.
I show a selection of them here.