Now that i've been living out of a few suitcases for over 8 weeks I am having a bit of an awakening to the ridiculousness of how much we identify ourselves with our STUFF. Americans are the worst. We are destroying the beauty of life and the environment faster than any other country. Living in China - you are constantly confronted with the amount of waste that your lifestyle generates: wasted resources, wasted space, wasted money, wasted energy on worrying about silly things. In the US, it never crosses your mind, despite all the save the planet marketing, because everyone around you is doing the same thing. Our stuff just contributes to the stressful life Americans love to live. The Chinese are masters at living happily on the bare basics. They have very small living quarters often shared by more than one generation and very little extraneous stuff. People are always out and about, even until late at night. I wonder if their small home spaces encourage them out in the evening. It makes for a much more social environment. People in the US just retreat to their homes and don't have much interaction with others on most given nights.
Even after living in a city apartment for just a few weeks, it's funny for me to think back of the house and 3 acres of yard that we moved out of of. I miss the greenspace, but not the stuff. We have almost a full tractor trailer moving truck worth of stuff in storage in NY. Why? I already don't even want most of that stuff except for some furniture. It's interesting how much we define ourselves by our homes, cars, clothes, electronics, etc. It's quite liberating being stripped of it all and put in an environment where all those things have no meaning. Of course, it's also amusing that I'm saying that while living in a luxury apartment. :) And here I am talking about the joy of living with "less" - what a paradox. However, it's a good feeling knowing that none of this is actually mine - we are just temporarily enjoying it. When this gig is over, we are completely free to do and go wherever. We aren't tied down by a house or cars or anything. THAT is a great feeling.
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PL, so true. I enjoy your blogs, sometimes laughing trying not to fall out of my chair! Your personality comes out in your writing which makes it all the more enjoyable to read. Keep it coming :)
ReplyDeleteI am presently in China, my third trip since August 2007. I have now spent about 7.5 months in China. I concur with your sentiments. We are enslaved by our "stuff." We (Americans) seem to have a mindless pursuit of "stuff" as in if in some process of seeking happiness or prestige.
ReplyDeleteI like your blog format; I have not yet figured out how to do what you've done. I have a "blogspot" but quit working on it because I was not aware of the capabilities like you've shown in your blog. -- Ken Wiggers