The Problem with Stuff

I dislike clutter. I am not a collector, at least I don't intend to be one. However I do like some stuff. I love boats, jetskis, kayaks, canoes, cars, motorcycles, cooking tools, guns, and any equipment related to videography and photography. But there is a problem with stuff, I don't have time to “play with all of my toys.” Another problem is the stuff takes up space, and can clutter up my living areas. There is another even greater problem, some of the stuff actually consumes resources without delivering much in return.

Here is one such example. I bought a Saturn Sky Redline, the last year model which was made. I bought it primarily for an investment and secondarily because I thought it would be a fun car to drive. It turned out to be okay to drive, and it looked awesome, but the darn thing broke down twice within 6 months. On the way to the inspection station the horn broke. A horn! I understand if I drove in New York or Indonesia where the horn is depressed as often as the accelerator, but I don't ever use the horn-except on the drive to the inspection station. I barely drove the car because is wasn't comfortable for anything but short trips, at speeds below 60 mph. It primarily sat in the garage.

While sitting in the garage it broke down again! Now the Onstar (which I had not activated) tried to call Onstar emergency each time I opened the door!

What kind of car breaks down while just sitting there. I'll tell you what kind of car, the kind of car that gets donated to “Wheels for Wishes.”

So, there is some stuff that while it takes up space and resources, it is actually useful and fun. That is the good stuff, the stuff that works reliably, delivers what I bought it for and requires nothing more than routine maintenance. Most of the stuff you see in the photos, my boat, jetski, 4-wheeler are all in this category.



I loved them, they were fun and gave me no trouble. But I sold them all because I had better things to do with my time.
Of course there is some stuff that I use often, like my camera equipment. In the photo here you see my crazy-big lens on one of my cameras. I used it to take the moon shot shown here.


I no longer have lens envy!
The other photos you see here are taken with my other lenses and various cameras. That equipment enables me to capture life, and I love doing that!


I watched a documentary called “Minimalism.” It was on Netflix and I understand that it can be seen on Vimeo. The movie is based on two men who have taken a minimalist approach to life. Everything they own must have a necessary purpose, or they get rid of it. They found happiness after adopting a minimalist lifestyle. There are other people who live in tiny houses for the same reason, and find life to be more fulfilling. I don't ever see myself moving into a “tiny” house and I will likely have tools which enable me to do thing activities I enjoy, but I do see the value in minimizing my “stuff” a bit more.
This brings me to the end of the post, and to the most important point. I mentioned earlier that I “had better things to do with my time” other than maintain and play with my toys. Two of those things are:

1. Experiencing life, and helping others to do the same
2. Capturing life in video and photography, and sharing it with others
   
   

People, life and creativity are much more fulfilling to me now than is stuff.
Thank you for reading. I hope you can get out and enjoy life!