The Stuff of Dreams

January is often a month for re-evaluating. Resolutions often speak loudly to the desire to change,to improve and to take charge. One of the changes that sometimes pops up after the acquisition of things brought on by the gift giving season involves de-cluttering . Yesterday, before I went for my woods road walk I heard a discussion on CBC's Tapestry about 'stuff'. It got me to thinking and of course that thinking continued as I walked. Burton constantly jokes (he thinks it's very funny) about how much he will get for certain objects in our home when I'm gone and he has the yard sale. The woman presenting her theories about our obsession with possessions commented that acquiring stuff has it's stages. We start out with very little and concentrate on accumulating things. Then at a point in our lives we start to de-value our things and begin to get rid of stuff. I watched my parents do that a few years ago. In the process of getting rid of their home they let possessions go until they packed the most important things and moved into a much smaller space. From their life of accumulated possessions I took very little. Perhaps one of the most treasured of the handful of things I took was Mom's clothespin basket. I do look around at my stuff and despite my husband's comments I realize there are things I could let go. Some of my possessions mean more to me than others and the monetary value attached has very little to do with it. Thoughts about the stuff we surround ourselves with led me to thinking about the stuff of dreams. I have a little bag hanging on the doorknob of my office. The small panel on the bag has a star and the word DREAM stitched on the fabric. A dear friend gave me this bag. It is a possession I value because of what it says to me every time I look at it. I live my dream every time I enter this room and sit down to write. The stuff of dreams and the following of those dreams fills our lives with more meaning than any amount of possessions will ever be able to give us.