Seriously - FOUR Z's?

[floppers]

I'm very much enjoying the language, cadence and the words you are all using....isn't there something just lovely about Caran D'ache Museum Aquarelle, Shinola, Japanese garden shears, cosmology?

On our frosty walk this morning, the father of my offspring commented that the youngsters at work didn't understand what he meant when he commented that an "issue" they were having was a "storm in a teacup"....I'm not sure he was showing his age (56), or if our ever expanding language is losing some richness....somehow, "don't sweat the small stuff"/"non-issue" hasn't the same lyricism for me.

[bwt1213]

Ah -- "tempest in a teacup" might have rung some bells. Probably not, though. "I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams." Shakespeare was a quantum physicist before there were physicists or the idea of quanta. And a topologist, besides, before topology. But I suspect it is a small pot. and soon hot.

[Naboka]

I'm very much enjoying the language, cadence and the words you are all using....isn't there something just lovely about Caran D'ache Museum Aquarelle, Shinola, Japanese garden shears, cosmology?

On our frosty walk this morning, the father of my offspring commented that the youngsters at work didn't understand what he meant when he commented that an "issue" they were having was a "storm in a teacup"....I'm not sure he was showing his age (56), or if our ever expanding language is losing some richness....somehow, "don't sweat the small stuff"/"non-issue" hasn't the same lyricism for me.

Lyricism.

Your partridge ode paralleling your friend's possessions to that Christmas oldie provided a ray of hope--at least, suggesting beneath it all existed something lyrical and structured.

The question remains: when does collecting become hoarding?

I have a friend whose closet is larger than most master bedrooms. Made with beautiful woods and exquisite lighting. More designer clothing and shoes than she could wear in a year. A stunning display. Nothing out of place. Precisely ordered. Breathtaking.

If she had less resources, less space, less ability to purchase individual items that were artworks in and of themselves, she would probably descend into hoardership. Her imagined small home would theoretically be filled with sale items from local department stores, piled wherever they lay, because she couldn't afford the designers and craftsmen to provide organization to convert her material possessions into a visual masterpiece.

On the internet, you can find artists who use junk to make art. Usually, the material is less important than the vision. How do we bring order and flow to these things so that our environment is more pleasing?

And, in the case of our living space, how to make that arrangement functional? How do we make it easier to find that friggin' screwdriver? Or brush. Or sock?

The internet is filled with information. Something of a social exercise in hoarderism. If we lacked a workable method of retrieving that information, it would provide us nothing but endless frustration. Just like when we get older and retrieving information that was once instantly available becomes more and more elusive. It's sitting in our brains somewhere, just not where we can find it until the next day when it falls into our cereal. Is the solution to have less information? The material (ideas/information) has to be organized and accessible for immediate use.

The idea I'm trying to weave together here is that quantity is not the culprit. Lack of space and lack of organization skills have some bearing. And, yes, there is that emotional element of being unable to let go of possessions for whatever reason. But, if you had enough space and sufficient organizational skill, you could own an impressive amount of stuff and easily access it. And, it could be beautiful.

We just celebrated the 4th of July. Fireworks exploding all across the horizon. Millions of dollars worth. We watched the dazzle from a hilltop commanding the sky. So much. So very, very much. Breathtaking. Quantity on quantity on quantity.

Watching Megaword play a game and pile up words? Quantity on quantity on quantity.

Large stores are filled with stuff. Floor after floor of stuff. Racks and racks of clothing. Cases and cases of items. Yet, we never walk in and think, "these people are hoarders." Because there is plenty of space and it's organized attractively.

Jay Leno owns over 250 cars and motorcycles. All in perfect shape and housed with plenty of space. "Hoarder" probably doesn't appear in articles about his collection.

My wife's artist friend (that she helped moved) lost her step dad a couple of years ago. He had a farm in Iowa with lots of buildings to house his collection of cars. Probably 50 classic vehicles. But, the stepdad lacked Leno's resources so every surface wasn't spit shined. Dust loves farms. "Hoarder" came up frequently in discussions about him.

We live in a society that pushes the idea of "plenty." The more you have, the better. The faster you run, the better. The more money you have, the better. Records, records, records. We're on a site that publishes our records. Most words, best words, highest average. We finally score 400 points and then want to score 450, then 500. Reach 500 and it's on to 600 then 700. We reach a 1,000 and lament our inability to match Megaword.

Accumulation and competition are social mindsets. Maybe part of our mental DNA. Infectious. And evolution is such that some handle infections better than others.

I wonder if hoarders simply lack an ability to organize relative to their possessions. They're trying to multiply 5 digit numbers in their minds and have no idea how to organize the accumulating quantities. Multiplying 3x7 is relatively simple. But 87649 x 38263? It all becomes a jumble. A physical jumble. Piles and piles of disassociated figures.

Well, this is getting too long. Too much. Quantity on quantity. Simple is good.

Though, simple is relative. Some people find multiplying 472 x 638 in their minds simple.

Doesn't mean they can also make a good apple pie.

[Naboka]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I also like the way you expressed yourself in the third person. I too had too many art supplies. In fact I had too many interests which generated too many supplies in general. It was really hard to pare myself down to just 5 interests. I miss some of the things I gave up, but I own far less stuff now. Maybe one day I'll give up gaming & go back to Astronomy as I really liked looking @ the stars & learning about Cosmology. Course the main reason I chose to delete it, as no matter how much time I spent on it, it was never enough. There was always more to learn, always more objects to observe, always more equipment to buy to see farther, clearer, sharper. That was a hard one to give up, especially when there's some kind of event. While I got rid of so much associated with it, I still own my telescope, associated pens, red lights, a couple binders & notebooks of data. I just couldn't part w/it. While I haven't even looked @ this stuff for now over 10 years, I still can't seem to part w/it. Its hard to rid 'yourself' of things that if not now, once gave joy & stimulated the mind.

You are certainly not alone in your obsessions.

To 2Cute:

Having lots of interests.

Interest is what makes life worth living. To be filled with interest is to be filled with life. Watching the wonder of children. Before someone convinces them that they must put their brain to the grindstone and get serious about life.

If there is a God, Interest must be a compelling element to that God's makeup. Interest. Exploration. Constantly searching for something new.

Evolution suggests this to be true. A constant change. An abundance of creatures and abilities. All shapes and sizes trying to survive in so many environments. Always changing.

Worship fills us with a sense of peace and security. But, what do we worship? What qualities deserve our worship? Love, understanding...

Interest?

One should never chide oneself for being interested. Leonardo could spend hours examining how spit flowed down a wall. He marveled from examining the various patterns and speeds by which different birds flew. His few paintings were filled with accurate depictions of plants and rocks that could only come from personal observations. He was constantly interested in the sky, the land, water. He sought ways to make machines to conquer it all. Yet, he was flamboyant and frowned on by the moralists of his day.

We are surrounded by moralists and layers of sub-moralists who pressure us with what is good and bad, right and wrong. The moral judges try to convince us that this interest or that is wrong. That we should not waste time on gossamer when sackcloth covers us better.

Time herds us all through the gates of his slaughterhouse. We have but few moments. Moments to treasure. And interest provides the currency for that treasure.

We give up so much in our march through life. How sad that having "too many interests" can become a burden. More accurately, we have too little time, not too many interests.

Which forces us to choose. Choose where to invest those interests.

I commend your wide range of interests. Lift our glasses in celebration of your capacity to be interested. Shed a tear that some of those interests must fall to the wayside, but embrace with joy the life those interests represent.

Be kind to yourself. Those interests are what makes you so alive.

As for possessions. Not a single one has value without our interest. Our interest creates value, never the possession which lacks intrinsic value and depends utterly on us for providing that interest and value.

Cheers. A toast. To interest! To life! To Infinity and Beyond!

[2cute]

To 2Cute:

Having lots of interests.

Interest is what makes life worth living. To be filled with interest is to be filled with life. Watching the wonder of children. Before someone convinces them that they must put their brain to the grindstone and get serious about life.

If there is a God, Interest must be a compelling element to that God's makeup. Interest. Exploration. Constantly searching for something new.

Evolution suggests this to be true. A constant change. An abundance of creatures and abilities. All shapes and sizes trying to survive in so many environments. Always changing.

Worship fills us with a sense of peace and security. But, what do we worship? What qualities deserve our worship? Love, understanding...

Interest?

One should never chide oneself for being interested. Leonardo could spend hours examining how spit flowed down a wall. He marveled from examining the various patterns and speeds by which different birds flew. His few paintings were filled with accurate depictions of plants and rocks that could only come from personal observations. He was constantly interested in the sky, the land, water. He sought ways to make machines to conquer it all. Yet, he was flamboyant and frowned on by the moralists of his day.

We are surrounded by moralists and layers of sub-moralists who pressure us with what is good and bad, right and wrong. The moral judges try to convince us that this interest or that is wrong. That we should not waste time on gossamer when sackcloth covers us better.

Time herds us all through the gates of his slaughterhouse. We have but few moments. Moments to treasure. And interest provides the currency for that treasure.

We give up so much in our march through life. How sad that having "too many interests" can become a burden. More accurately, we have too little time, not too many interests.

Which forces us to choose. Choose where to invest those interests.

I commend your wide range of interests. Lift our glasses in celebration of your capacity to be interested. Shed a tear that some of those interests must fall to the wayside, but embrace with joy the life those interests represent.

Be kind to yourself. Those interests are what makes you so alive.

As for possessions. Not a single one has value without our interest. Our interest creates value, never the possession which lacks intrinsic value and depends utterly on us for providing that interest and value.

Cheers. A toast. To interest! To life! To Infinity and Beyond!

Well said Naboka (for both mine & floppers statements), thank you!

That's a very good point, hoarders lack the ability to organize their possessions so it ends up a big pile of unorganized stuff. Yet, collecting for the sake of collecting is what separates someone from a being a hoarder and being a collector, not just money. It takes money or time to collect & stuff your life with objects. In some cases people amass thousands of dollars worth of objects that hold no meaning only to collect dust in their environment. Whereas a collector chooses the items with a purpose. Or in my case I collected items that are/were related to the interest. Take my astronomy, I had posters, books, images, research, observation notebooks, binders filled with Messier data (tons of it) & knowledge collected, that was all related to my interest in Astronomy. It was kind of organized in boxes & on shelves. I read, observed, enjoyed collecting it but eventually it began to take up too much space. Plus Astronomy wasn't my only interest. I HAD to pare it down. I feel freer now that I own less of it. Plus since I no longer spend my time on it, I also have more time to do other things. Astronomy is a very time consuming hobby. So while I enjoyed it, I enjoy doing other things more. Like I still enjoy looking @ art. I have thousands of images in my computer. I change my desktop image almost daily as I have so many. I never get tired of looking @ beautiful images. Luckily the impact of these images is small on my physical life as they live almost exclusively inside my hard-drive. I do have physical images too. Yes, I do go through them periodically & purge (recycle), as I don't want to amass too much. So while to someone who doesn't 'collect' I am a hoarder with all my things that seem to not have a cohesive connection (because I have so many interests), I am aware of most of what I own. I feel less overwhelmed by it if I continue to make sure it doesn't clutter my life as really I don't need any of it. I could live (like that man I once knew) lean. Own only what's necessary to survive & forgo the rest.

By the way, Chide is my new word (hope I find it in a puzzle). I like it. I won't chide myself for my too many interests & so little time to learn it all.