One of the Hard Questions in Life – What Would you do?

A few days ago, I was asked a question by a former colleague. The question was formulated in a simple way, and I thought very little about my answer, and just spit it out: ”Buy new things.” The question was ”What would you do if you lost ALL your belongings in life?”

It would be enough, one would think. But nooooo. Of course, my brain couldn’t let it go. In an era when we consume too much, have so many distractions, and use so many resources here, while others can’t make ends meet, get a roof over their head, or even have food to silence their rumbling bellies, I am now ashamed of that answer. And I wish to change it. Having let my brain mull this over for a couple of days (and actually doing a little personal inventory) I think I wouldn’t ”buy new things”. First of all, I guess ALL belongings, including whatever money/funds I might have to my name, besides all the physical stuff.

To be honest, I have way too much stuff. It’s things I don’t use. Things I’ve saved for many years, because ”what if?”. I’m not a hoarder but I might be just a tad bit sentimental, and hold on to stuff way too long. In my younger years, moving around a lot, I was really good at throwing away stuff I didn’t use, but that has gone away, being less of a nomad.

So, what would I do? I assume I still have a job and make money since I don’t see that as a belonging. I would start by making a list of what I (really) need. Stuff like a home, a computer, and a phone would be my top priorities as those are the tools I need to work. (Yes, I quit the restaurant business. More about that in a separate post, later)

Clothes would be high on my list as I am someone who gets cold easily. And, honestly, I would get a minimum of those, as I’m not really a fashionista kind of dude. Jeans, a couple of shirts, some T-shirts, a few warm sweaters, underwear, outerwear, and shoes would do just fine. As I build up more money, I would perhaps start up a few of my hobbies (the tech ones are still fun) and, in time, maybe even get a car.

A lot of the stuff I had, I wouldn’t replace since they are not essential to my life in any shape or form.

Losing all my belongings would be a hardship, no doubt, but in time, I would probably see it as a blessing, and a way to declutter my life and start over, in a more spartan way.

What would YOU do?

This is a VERY unedited post, one of those I write in 10 minutes, let Grammarly take care of the spelling, and then just post it. Sorry about that. I still hope you get what I’m saying.