Post #395516 by tikibars on Mon, Jul 21, 2008 12:43 PM

It is possible to stop.

I was a collector of collections for most of my life, until just a few years ago. Then I began to wonder "what is all of this FOR", and what missing part of myself am I trying to replace with all of these intrinsically worthless things.

I also started to wonder: when does one person have ENOUGH?

I have more comic books, accumulated over 30 years, than I will ever have time to re-read in my lifetime. If I begin now, I can re-enjoy all of the ones I bought in the 1980s and completely forgot about. I don't ever have to buy any more. I will likely be dead of old age before I finish re-reading the ones I have.

I have more Tiki mugs than I can reasonably display in Aku Hall. Half of my collection is boxed up in a closet.

In 2001, I decided to play all of my CDs once, each , alphabetically, with no repeats, just to see how long it took. Two years, almost to the day. Now with MP3s that I have gathered, I have three years worth of rotation. That is plenty.

The vast majority of my prints and posters are in a big cardboard tray under my bed. My walls are covered with art, but there is a whole lot more that lays unseen.

I do not NEED any more.
I have reached my fill.
I have more stuff than I possibly have time to enjoy.

It is a little bit of a breakthrough from an Eastern philosophy standpoint: free from the desire for ownership, I am happier.
Easing myself into a true state of "not wanting" has freed me of the sadness and frustration of desiring things I can't have, the burden of paying for the things I can have, and the constant maintenance of keping your things intact (be it from moving, from household disasters, or just from time).

It really is liberating to put yourself into a place where 'wanting' stops.

Almost overnight, I decided to stop buying objects, and to start spending my disposable income on experiences. So, in the past four years (in addition to my usual road trips and concert tours), I have been to Spain, France, Japan, Easter Island/Chile, Hawaii, a bunch of Tiki events, etc. These trips were all paid for with the cash that I used to spend on Tiki mugs that I don't drink out of, DVDs that I watched once, and action figures that are now in boxes (most of which I could not sell for even as much as I paid for them).

Wanting things is something that is ingrained upon us, in the Western world, since birth. Some people are hooked on pop collectibles, some need nice jewelry and fast cars, some need a fancily decorated house, and most of the girls I know need 100 pairs of shoes. Letting go of this need to own and consume is hard - it took me three decades-plus - but once you do it, it is a huge monkey off of your back!

...but I still can't stop buying art books and nice rums..........!