Spring Cleaning: Part II

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Now playing: Big Muff - My Funny Valentine
via FoxyTunes I just wanted to continue (and conclude) my thoughts on Spring cleaning. The reason why I even began this post, as well as the previous post (part I), was an inspiration from reading "MINDFUL YOGA, MINDFUL LIFE", by Charlotte Bell. If you want to read a little more about this book, you can follow the link over to one of my other blogs, "What Was I Thinking?". It is currently the most recent post on that particular blog. In her book, she goes into great detail about the "8 limbs of Yoga". In the book, she talks about the "5th yama", which is "aparigraha", which means "letting go". It is also translated as "nongreed" or "nongrasping". What a surprise... spell check isn't liking ANY of these bizarre words that I'm writing!

Anyhow, let me describe "aparigraha" for you... even if spell-check doesn't want me to! In life we are always gathering new things. It could be material possessions like clothing, books, music, cars, movies, etc. We also gather a lot of non-physical items, such as hobbies, responsibilities, or even in my case, church callings. Let us talk about the physical items for a moment. One of the things that I will use as an example are DVD movies. I began collecting DVD movies back in 1999, when I first purchased a DVD player. Before my purchasing a DVD player, I owned an old Pioneer Laser Disc player, which is now obsolete technology. I remember going to Inckley's, in Salt Lake City, to rent my laser discs. I vividly remember a couple of gentlemen discussing the forthcoming technology of Digital Video Discs (DVD), and how they couldn't fathom the fact that ANYTHING could be better quality than the beloved laser discs. For those of you who may not know, laser discs were 12 inch discs, very similar to a DVD, apart from the size. The technology only allowed 30-60 minutes of information on each side of the disc, depending on how clear of an image (and sound) that you wanted. The better the image, the less information per side of the disc. For example, I owned the Star Wars trilogy box set, which featured the three original Star Wars movies, taking up 5 sides of 3 total discs, for EACH movie. Every 30 minutes you had to jump up and turn over the disc... or replace the disc. It was well worth it, because the image and sound was infinitely better than the classic VHS tapes. Looking back, I laugh at the difference in quality between the classic 12 inch laser disc, and the current 5 inch DVD, which is still not the best technology out there. Now we have Hi-Def DVD's, as well as BlueRay (or whatever they are called) discs. In my opinion, it will soon get to the point where only our canine friends will be able to tell the difference in sound. I don't know enough about canine vision to know how they would react to either picture. It always amuses me when I watch a standard DVD, and they have an advertisement for some of the new Hi-Def technology, and the picture actually seems to look better... even though I'm watching it on my OLD DVD player, as well as my OLD 32" TV. Could they actually make the image better on the classic disc, or is it just my imagination buying into the new technology?

This really isn't what I am trying to convey, so let me get to the point. I used to collect all the new movies that came out, and then it occurred to me that so many of the movies which I purchased, just seemed to collect dust. Most movies are only good for 1 or 2 viewings, in my mind. Now, there are a few movies that I will never tire of... The Blues Brothers, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, any and all Christopher Guest movies, as well as some others. We have collected the Harry Potter movies, and although I rarely watch any of them, will probably hold onto them. But what about all these movies that I never watch? Am I collecting them, just to have them become an obsolete technology? My parents used to collect a massive amount of VHS tapes, which they still have... taking up bookshelf space. Now they have a piece of furniture dedicated to their DVD library, which is now full, and overflowing. I ask myself how many of those movies they will they even watch twice? I decided that I would sell any of my movies that likely wouldn't get a second or third viewing. Sometimes I regret the decision to sell a movie, but most of the time I am just practicing the 5th yama, aparigraha. I am letting go. Do I miss most of the movies? Not at all. Am I helping to cut down the environmental impact by letting someone else have the movie that I already owned? Absolutely.

The same goes for clothing. One of my guilty pleasures is that of collecting humorous t-shirts. From my "Mullets Rule" shirt, to my "Mr-T: I Pity the Fool" shirt, I have quite a collection. One of my children was just commenting on how I had TOO MANY shirts. In her book, Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life, Charlotte Bell talks about how she will always give away an outfit, when she purchases a new one. She love the feeling of giving a friend something that was special to her, and receives great satisfaction seeing the outfit used by someone else, when it would probably just collect dust in her closet. This is practicing the art of "letting go". Much of my music collection has been converted to a format which is usable on my iPod. Do I listen to most of those compact discs, anymore? Not at all. For me, it is all about my iPod. I do have certain titles that I will never sell, but there are some that would be better served in someone else's hands. I sell much of my own collection on Half.com and eBay. If you ever stumble across anything for sale by "totally.retro", it would be something that has passed through MY hands. As far as clothing is concerned, I am currently in the process of going through my old t-shirts, and finding those shirts that I can either donate to a charitable thrift store, or just dispose of in the proper way. Some of my old concert shirts are ones that I have held on to for many years, only for sentimental reasons. Most never get worn. Do I need them, cluttering up my personal space? No. Is it hard to "let go"? Yes, sometimes... but when I allow myself to do that, I know that I will really never miss those items.

Now, before I close, let me go on about the non-physical items, such as hobbies. One of my favorite things to do, is watch a good television program. I have several that are set up with "season passes" on my Tivo recorder. 24 (when it actually airs), The Office, My Name is Earl, Flight of the Conchords and Rescue Me are just a few of the titles that I enjoy watching. It is a great escape for me. Now, because of budgetary reasons, there are occasions where we don't have our satellite service operating. Do I panic? No, actually I find those times rather liberating. They allow me to spend more time reading, or playing guitar, or doing some of these various internet duties that I have. Yes, I occasionally need to get online and watch an important episode that I may have missed, but for the most part, my life goes on. I always look forward to the summer, because my television viewing becomes very limited, giving me more time to enjoy a hike, or just sit on the back balcony and play my guitar.

We must prioritize our lives, deciding what is most important, and what we can let go. One of our daughters has become a very popular girl, where she is actively involved in drama, choir, piano, and now an elected student body position at her junior high school. She is succeeding more than I ever did, but at the same time, she shows great signs of stress and anxiety. She is always worn down, and often worries about not having enough time to do what she needs to do. At the same time, she runs around with her cell phone, continually texting friends, and always trying to get some time online to chat with these friends. In my opinion, she isn't over burdened, she just needs to prioritize her life, and figure out what things she just needs to "let go". I think she would be able to add at least an hour to her day, if she just put down her cell phone for a while. Another one of her big concerns is that she doesn't ever exercise, and she is always tired, requiring her to take a nap on a daily basis. In my opinion, if she took that nap time and exercised, not only would she make more time, but she would be more energized.

Yes, it's hard to let go of things that we love, or those hobbies that we love doing. The old adage states "Jack of all trades, master of none". I often wish that I was a better guitarist. Maybe I could be, if I just made that my top priority. I haven't, and I will probably never be great. Sometimes we need to just sit back and look at our lives, and ask ourselves what is most important. If we have families, maybe that should be our top priority. If not, what is it that we most want to accomplish? I had a former co-worker friend who stated that she didn't own a television. At first I thought that was crazy, especially knowing how much she loved quirky cinema. Now I realize what she was accomplishing by that. She was looking for a sense of inner peace, that most can only realize after not having those media distractions. Do I wish that life was what our pioneer forefathers experienced? No, but I'm sure they had a better sense of what was important in their lives.

We live in an age where there are so many distractions that are pulling us away from what truly makes us the happiest. Take time to sit back and reevaluate what brings you happiness, and try to make those changes necessary to bring you a sense of inner peace.