HELLO!

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

I have a friend who just retired as a social worker. She staffed a unique outreach program where nurses and social workers would be called into service when a crisis would emerge in someone’s life. Mental health was a common theme. But other challenges would include poverty, abusive relationships, addictions, social injustice. She and I spoke about what we both learned from our respective roles in the community, she as a social worker, myself as a street navigator. Many of the issues we faced were similar and would not be a surprise to you. The two I highlighted as not commonly known by the general public were: loneliness and hoarding. Loneliness may not be a surprise to you, though its reach, the sheer number of people who struggle with its effects, may shock you (or not). But many are not aware how hoarding plays a significant role in people’s lives. Those with the means can and do utilize storage lockers, live in homes far larger than their needs, and these can mitigate and conceal the reality of hoarding. I looked up the definition of hoarding: “The compulsion to continually accumulate a variety of items often considered worthless by others accompanied by an inability to discard the items without great distress, causing stress that impacts a person's health, career or relationships.” Obviously, there are degrees to this, and many of my friends and family members, for whom this description may apply, would quibble with the word “worthless”. They would ask, “to whom is this worthless?” My question in this debate is, if you needed to move or to change your living space, could you do this? And if the answer, “someone might need it”, have you considered that the things you are holding on to, to pass on to children and grandchildren, may not be items your family members want? And if no one, except you, wants these items, are you in a position where, if you needed to move or change your space, you could? If holding on to these things means you or those in your household are now at risk, or that in a crisis you needed to move, and others will need to address this stress-filled situation, would that change your perspective? My late mother would often tell me she could not part with things as they reminded her of special people in her life. I get that. But my response then was, if you keep so many things that most of what you have is buried under other things, how do you remember those special people? Perhaps, if remembering people is your goal, “less can be more”.

Here is a very thoughtful column on this topic that if you are interested in how we deal with our “stuff” you will want to read. I would be interested in your response. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/great-stuff-transfer-inheritance-millennials-1.7407788 Peace, Kevin