Stowing Unnecessary Baggage

Driving home from work today, I was dazzled by the breeze gently stripping leaves off of the trees.  Various colors of discarded foliage whipped across my path.  This, of course, is normal during Autumn, but I was taken aback by the beauty in discarded things.

For some reason, these days I've been feeling a burr under my pirate garb to discard many things in my life, namely clothes I don't wear anymore and so forth.  (Especially after the store changed the dress code.)  You get the idea, right?  Honestly, how much stuff does a pirate need?  The answer should be, only enough to carry aboard ship whilst sailing off on a new adventure.  But is that true?  Well, that's got me pondering again about life and what I want and need.

Why is my closet so full?  Why do I stash things under my bed?  (Besides 3 novels that will never see the light of day.)  Why must I cram other things in nooks and crannies to get them out of the way?  What do I do with normal decorations while I put out Christmas decorations?  And what's up with holding onto my kids things in the hopes that my grandchildren will play with them?  (They only want to learn to rove like Captain Mimi anyway.)

I digress... but you get the picture.

But today, I realized something as those leaves made their way lyrically through the air only to land in a heap on the ground.  We cast off from shore all the time, leaving behind old homes, towns, schools, friends, and least desired... family.  Yes, we entertain the notion that the grass is always greener on the other side.  We purchase and stash, purchase and stash.  We stand in long lines just for the chance to buy things on sale, even when we don't know if what we want will still be available.  All of this made more perfectly clear as this past weekend and Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping madness hit stride as stores opened on Thanksgiving night!

As I sit at my computer and listen to Baroque music while writing this post, it occurs to me that none of that stuff really matters.  As long as I have a crew to lead, a ship to sail, and a compass to point to what I want most, I'm content.

How do you deal with unnecessary baggage? 

Reinvent Yourself & Give Thanks

There's a lot of confusion in the world today. If you haven't heard, all you have to do is turn on the news. Politics, the economy, the lost art of patience, dwindling morality and thinly veiled dignity, all play a definitive part in keeping the most humane experiences from reaching the mortal soul. Add the holiday season and a person could become completely undone.

Take the fact that towns across the US have put up holiday decorations way before their time. Holiday music is already playing in stores across the nation as preparations for Black Friday commence. (Shiver me timbers!) Though I work for a retailer, and I know the importance of THE DAY OF DAYS, the crowds, harried customers, and the push by companies for consumers to spend, spend, spend, squeal loudly like a pig trying to maintain its balance on a spinning puzzle piece.

When is enough, enough? Commercials spin the idea that no one will be satisfied unless they receive a car for Christmas. A car? Seriously? In this economy? Have CEOs everywhere lost their minds? If you don't believe me, check out reruns of the American Music Awards and watch JLo's performance. Yes indeedie, the car from her commercials was sharing center stage with her. Was I the only one who thought that was strange?

Does the picture of students getting sprayed with pepper spray just for 'sitting' in protest of increased college tuition ring any bells?

Where does the mania end?

This is nothing new. Long ago, Pilgrims survived a perilous journey across the sea only to be forced into the wilds of a new land with little to sustain them. That they made it through winter came via change, enlisting the aide of a new people, learning better ways to live, and putting those skills into action.

After spending the past two years in pain and the past three months recovering from a surgery that took that pain away, I'm living in a new world, mateys. A clearer world where simple things have become favorite things.

It's amazing how much we take for granted on any given day.

As Thanksgiving approaches, give thanks for what you have because I guarantee you have more than you can possibly imagine if you have good health, people who love you, a roof over your head, food to fill your belly, a machine to get you to and from work, and last but definitely not least, friends to help make each day better than the last.

Change is good. Pilgrims initiated a change that brought this country to life. Are you afraid of change? How can you reinvent yourself?

Live. Laugh. Love.