I saw this video clip on Facebook. Thought I’d share it here:
Life is a short journey. Live it!
Collect memories, not material things.
(This URL redirects to a Facebook video. It is safe to click on. I created it.)
I found this to be inspirational. I hope you do too. Have a nice day!
Why not collect both? I love having certain actual objects in my life, like my 3x great grandfather’s gunpowder container from his service in the Civil War, the artwork I’ve collected that was done by a noted local artist who was a neighbor of mine, my trilobite fossil, etc.
Yeah, sure, why not? Things bring meaning to our lives. They certainly have for me. But to me that message is telling me to get out there and go see people and places.
Like last weekend when the orange poppies were blooming and vibrant after the heavy rains we had recently. They were over 330 miles away so we made a weekend trip out of it. They were beautiful. And bright!
The California golden poppy is the official state flower. These were some pictures my brother and I took on Sunday.
I’m a fan of ST:TOS, Star Trek, the Original Series. Also on Sunday we went to Vasquez Rocks and (what has become known as) Kirk’s Rock, where some iconic scenes were filmed. To an old fan of Star Trek like me, it was cool to see those rock formations. The license plate on my Jeep is a play on Star Trek (covered in the photo).
Unfortunately they don’t offer any alternatives to working for a living.
Some of my materials things remind me of my memories and keep them fresh.
Some of them are items given to me by family or friends that are now deceased, and holding them gives me comfort and I remember those I love who are no more.
I hope those that care about me will find the same in one or two of the material objects I leave behind.
This is very true, as memories fade. But what if there is no material thing to help them persist?
Four days ago (in Turkiye) we got on an dolmus (minibus as public transport) in Kusadasi, heading for Ladies’ Beach. It was crowded, so we did what you’re supposed to do - hand the fare to the person next to you, who hands it on to the next person and so on to the driver, with the change coming back the same way. I guess there had been some whispered conversation we we didn’t pick up on, because as we settled, a woman very gently nudged Mrs Trep, and nodded to a small child, who said:
“Hello, how are you?”
“Very well, thank you,” we replied, “And how are you?”
I guess she was the only other person on the bus who could speak any English, and for a short journey she delighted in practising her English with us. Everyone around was smiling.
This is my fondest memory of the vacation, but it has no anchor. I hope I can hang onto it.
j
Jokes aside, I draw an enormous amount of comfort from having a stable environment. Once I have a space set up the way I like it, I pretty much never make changes. One thing I don’t miss about my ex was their constant desire to rearrange our living space. This extends to my possessions - I love knowing where all my books are, I love seeing my comfortable and familiar pictures on the wall. In the aftermath of my relationship dissolving, I spent a great deal of money that I didn’t really have to move items that might have been more cheaply replaced in my new digs… Because I know that my extremely fragile mental health would not survive losing all my things as well.
I am not sure what you mean by material things: if you mean things that are materialistic in the sense that their value is merely pecuniary, yes, I agree. Those have little value, though their price can be high. But sometimes material objects are where memories cristalize. Those have value for me that goes way beyong their material or materialistic value. Photographs are an easy example. Books too. I have a small skull made of cheap marble I bought in Florence about 40 years ago. I thought it was so cool back then! And I have a couple of original drawings by Gilbert Sheldon that I cherish: they remind me of when I first read his comics and I want to take care of them and pass them one day to someone worthy of them. That is not materialistic: I never plan to sell them. But of course they are material: paper and ink. I think you have fallen into the false dichotomy trap.
ETA: I did not watch the video. I never click on facebook. Perhaps I got you wrong and a vital part of information is missing.
To me, in the context of the OP, material things means the chase of always trying to get something bigger and better. Such as jewelry, cars, house, or other items that represent a status symbol. It does not mean a special photograph or other item, for @Broomstick , or the bus token for @Treppenwitz , if that was available.
One of the silly little items that I keep is from 43 years ago that reminds me of my time in boot camp. It’s worth maybe 50 cents but reminds me of that time. It’s a way to help preserve the memory.
Something I read online (random internet stranger) might apply to the thread
“Life doesn’t have to have a purpose or grand ambition; It’s okay to just wander through finding interesting things until you die.”
That’s one reason why people have journals or diaries. Or, in my case, I sometimes tell the tale on line and come back to it years later (assuming said tale was told somewhere that persisted).
Speaking just personally, collecting anything – memories or objects – is not why I believe we are alive.
I know people who “live life to the fullest” and frankly it’s exhausting just listening to them talk. They can’t just be, they have to be ‘experiencing’, and every experience is judged for how intense, novel, transcendent, educational or entertaining it is.
I’m not sure what the qualitative difference is between collecting experiences and collecting objects really is. The former is less of a headache to clean up for your heirs, but they are both at base acquisitive.
