Validation!

  Recently, I had someone tell me that I should start clearing out things to make life easier.  I admit that I am getting older and it is taking longer to accomplish anything so I had to mull over the idea.  "Declutter the house, purge unneeded items and clear the yard of plants." I was told.  The person then proceeded to tell me that I was too old to be dealing with "things"and gardens and such. It was her idea that I would be much happier (in an empty house and barren wasteland of a yard.)  "You will have so much free time!" Hogwash!  Well, it is not my nature to live in a barren place and, personally, what would I do with free time if there is nothing to fill it?  Later, I questioned Son about the whole craze of "purging" and why people tend to think I need to be doing it.  He answered by posing yet another question..."Are the folks trying to get you to convert to their ways or are they simply needing validation for theirs?"  Uh, oh....I had to ponder that long and hard.

  Years ago, Granddad told me that "If you ever run out of things to do, you might as well not be living."  I pondered that point as well.  I was trimming out the jasmine vines (and one knows that wielding snips does not take a lot of thought) when the mind wandered to Granddad's point.  That soon overlapped to the conversation with my well-meaning visitor who is after me to clear out everything. "If you purge everything, life will be so easy because you will have nothing to do!" I was told as if that was a good thing. It came to me that if life ever got too easy and I had nothing to do, why even get out of bed in the morning?  Oh, that would never work!  I would be slap miserable! This morning, I awoke with the urgent need to trim the jasmine vines before the rains set in for the next few days.  I HAD something to do!  Each and every morning is much the same.  There is always some chore, some creative endeavor, some duty to be fulfilled...there is always something to get me up each day even if it is to dust all of my so-called collectibles!  I want things to do.  I do not want to stagnate.  I do not want to live in a void.  I do not want an empty life. I want to have things to look forward to each and every day.  I want to live a life of fullness whether that be of people, critters, hobbies and, yes, things.  Keep in mind, I do not begrudge others of their mindset.  Some of the ideas are helpful. That is their business...and, perhaps, I am just "validating" mine.  I did, however, purge the jasmine vines of all of their excess growth!