In the movie THE BREAKFAST CLUB, there is a scene where two students in detention are sifting through one another’s things. Bender (played by Judd Nelson) is seen brushing his teeth with one of Claire’s (played by Molly Ringwald) makeup brushes. Claire is flipping through his wallet filled with photographs of various girls:
your purse?
girlfriends?
anything away.
I guess we all do that with different things; I know I do. I’ve got a life full of things that don’t have to be there, don’t serve a purpose, and just take up space.
My voice mail is always full of messages I’ve already listened to…but I still need to go back and “write that number down.”
My desk is cluttered with junk that has already been dealt with, still needs to be dealt with…or never has to be dealt with…if I would just take a look at it and throw it away.
My email is…obscene. I save a lot of it for business, in case I need to recall it for some reason. But despite the remarkable insight of my father, who saw to it that I learned to type back in high school, I just can’t type fast enough to see my inbox dip below, we’ll say, HUNDREDS.
My closet is full of I don’t know what but I thought I had to have it and keep it so I put it in the closet. The closet in the guestroom is full of the stuff that wouldn’t fit in my closet.
The stuff that didn’t fit in either one is in storage, and I’m paying for that.
We come into this world alone, and then we wake up buried in a stack of unread magazines, unnecessary chores, and glittered MySpace messages from folks that send out “I love you” to all ten thousand "friends" via BULK MAIL.
I want to throw away so many things that simply strangle my days, suffocate my world, and lock my mind into rudimentary routines that achieve nothing. Rid my world of noise and clutter and trash and proven examples of emptiness.
Leave more room for the things that matter…and the clarity that helps us recognize them.
But it’s hard. We pick through the worthless “time burglars” and still find the occasional gem. A few of those messages, emails, pictures, things are a way to hang on to memories that, at one time, brought us joy or hope or calm or laughter. An accomplishment well done, or a belief much appreciated. We still have those feelings when we stumble onto THOSE things…even when life has led us beyond them and we’ve had to leave them behind.
“Click here to DELETE.” Okay…click. Then I’m asked, “Are you SURE?”
Are you kidding? Do I want to carry around a purse full of Claire’s crap? Do I want Bender’s wallet simply full of “somebodys?”
But then there’s Allison (played by Ally Sheedy). She dumps out her “is there anything that WOULDN’T fit in that bag” bag on the seat, and Brian (played by Anthony Michael Hall) asks her…
[crap] in your bag?
To which she replies…
[crap]...in my bag...You never know
when you may have to jam...
Nope. Not ready to let that one go yet; back in the bag. “RESAVE.”
I’ll try again tomorrow.
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Ahhhh. I relate. We're both "pack rats" of life. :)
Barb
Posted by: Barb (of the flashing sign) | October 13, 2008 at 07:29 AM
Well, I couldn't help but chuckle at this post. It is simply amazing how much "junk" we can accumulate over such a short period of time. You are so right...sorting through that so called "junk" can bring so much joy though! Nothing like going through a copy paper box running over with old birthday cards from the past 30 years and finding one wishing you a "Happy 1st Birthday from your Great-Grandma."
"Gems" like that are way too priceless to just hit "delete."
Posted by: Stacy | October 16, 2008 at 03:44 PM
I can so relate to this. Best of luck to you on the next try!
Posted by: Marti Anderson | October 26, 2008 at 07:21 PM