Resolution 1 Part 1: Fewer things

Sorry for the delay in posting this one. School and rugby started back up and I've spent the last two weeks trying to remember how to learn and regretting every piece of junk food I shoved in my face hole over the holidays. 

So let's get to this year's resolutions. I’m breaking the first one into two parts. Here’s the first half

I like books. I really do. I love reading. I've got a wish list saved on Amazon of all the books I want to get around to read. They’re the one thing I can almost always justify spending money on. They sit on my shelf and I look over at them as I’m playing PlayStation and they make me feel smart. And I think that’s a problem. 

It’s not just books though. It’s things in general. I like having them. I like surrounding myself with stuff. I like having all three of Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies even though I haven’t watched any of them in months. I have an old softball mitt that hasn't caught a softball in over a decade. I keep it around because… I might need it? Really? No one wants me on their corporate cup softball team. Why do I have all this stuff? It’s like I’m nesting.

I listened to a podcast the other day about this guy who’s a professional adventurer. He spends his time kayaking around Greenland or longboarding across Australia. He talked about how just about everything he owns has to fit into his backpack. He just doesn't have room in his life for a whole lot of extra stuff. 

I remember coming away from that thinking, “Man, I want that kind of life.” I want to be able to go have awesome experiences like that. And I’m kinda thinking that my stuff, this nesting instinct that I have prevents me from getting that. Sometimes I feel like Bilbo Baggins at the beginning of the Hobbit, all comfy in my hobbit hole but forgetting that real life, the stuff that really matters is outside. 

This isn’t meant to be a rant against having things. I still like things and I still plan on getting more. I just want to see if I can change my perspective on them. Do I really need all the stuff I’m acquiring? Do I really need to get all the Avenger tie-in movies? Is that really going to make me happy? Am I going to be an old man talking to my grandkids saying, “I spent my late 20’s collecting all the Marvel universe movies.”? God, I hope not. I want something more than that. We’ll get to what I think that might be next time. 

Peace