One of the most interesting epiphanies in life is to realize you've got too much stuff (I was going to say "shit" but I didn't want to offend anyone). Or you bought something really cool and thought "THIS is going to save me time and heartache" to find out you're better off with the more simple approach or the basic tool. Now don't get your hopes up in thinking I'm going to stop posting blogs. That's not quite where I was going with this.
About 15 or so years ago, my then partner, taught me how to talk myself out of things I didn't "need" right then. I was living paycheck to paycheck anyhow so it wasn't like it was a difficult lesson. But some of those "needs" were really "wants". I "needed" that electric guitar. REALLY! What I REALLY wanted was to stop the little bit of extra cash from burning a hole in my pocket. It's not like I've never played my electric guitar but I keep going back to my oldie-but-goodie guitar that my Mom and Dad gave me when I graduated from high school. So now I have five guitars that I "play" and two guitars that hang on the wall...cause they're special. And still I gravitate to the "one".
So I started looking at things that I've acquired and have not really used - or have used and not really gotten the hang of. Some have just down-right lost their usefulness. Yet with some, I can't quite bring myself to give them away or somehow dispose of them. I've been thinking about gifting some. Some things I'm going to wait until I finish my PhD and see if I pick them back up. Hence, the "delayed gratification".
But there is one thing I bought a few years ago, a Livescribe Pen, that was useful for a time but when I got stuck, mentally, I went back to the basics. It's a funny thing that when you feel comfortable with your environment you excel. Part of that comfort was picking up a pencil and plain paper and just writing.
In the move The Abyss, Ed Harris' character had to go into, well, the abyss. But he had to "breath" this fluid that was like embryonic fluid. He was told that his body would "remember" and he would be able to "breathe" easier in the deep waters and his body wouldn't explode...or something like that. Now he went a bit further back - birthing canal back - than I'm willing to go.
But how simple and free is the basic needs that we have now? We need to work, play, eat, use the litter box, laugh, and love. Do we need all the contraptions in life to do those things? Don't get me wrong - I LUV my iPhone, my iPad, my iPod...I just realized those are very "me" centric...but it's the extraneous stuff. I'm not feeling gratified with them. Do I really need to by that sweatshirt? Do I really need to buy something because it's on sale or I have a coupon? Heck, electronics are out of date when you walk out of the store.
I have realized too that as I spend time working on my dissertation, I don't spend money...as much. Reigning in my wants to really be "I don't needs" is going back to the basics of talking myself out of something I know I can do without. Spending time with others will do the same thing. Turning off the TV and not being bombarded with the ads - "GET THIS!" - "BUY THAT!" I miss playing my guitar - I miss doing cross-stitch (oh, don't be so surprised) - but I really do NEED to focus on my degree and writing my dissertation. Once I finish that - I'm free to revisit all those things I've had to set aside. I can't wait! In the meantime, I'm going back to the basics.
...and a PhD means...I'll tell you THAT in about a year!
