Simplify, simplify, simplify

A few months ago my computer died. It sputtered a little, blew smoke out of its ears and rolled over on its back, all fours straight up in the air. After a short funeral including some hymns and a cardboard box in a hole, I began my search for another laptop.

Only to realize that laptops are expensive (especially the ones I want!) and although the budget would stretch, I didn't want to make it have to.

Ok, I would just have to do without. Hubs and I are happily married; we could share one computer between the two of us, right?

Then, last week, I sold my car.

Between the two of us, where there was once two computers, two cars and a motorcycle, now stands one computer, one car and a motorcycle. Slowly whittling away at the things that are in our life.

Know what I found out?

I don't miss them. I don't need things.

Yes, it was nice when I had a laptop. But what did I do with it? I sat on the couch while Hubs and I watched a movie and played solitaire or searched the Internet. I told myself (pre-laptop) that when I got my own personal computer, I would begin to write seriously. I would start free-lancing, and I would make the laptop an investment in my writing future.

No. The excuses kept coming. A laptop won't make me write. Only I can make me write. And I just wasn't ready.

When I sold my car, surprisingly, I wasn't upset. I didn't feel much, actually. Maybe a little sad and a little relieved, but even those emotions were minuscule. There was no crying, no tearing my hands away from the door latch as I sobbed and kicked at the tires. We just got in Hubs' car and drove home. Am I just un-feeling? Do I just not have a heart?

Nope. I think I just know where priorities lie. I don't mind not having a car. I really don't think that we all need to be two-car families. What do I need a car for? It takes a little more effort; sometimes I have to wake up early (gasp!) to take Hubs to work and sometimes I have to stay at home while Hubs takes the car out. And?

Big freakin' deal.

It's just a car. It's just a computer. It's just a thing.

And what are things good for?

Absolutely nothing!

And a crazy thought hit me. Maybe all these things that I have been gathering - these clothes, shoes, antiques, dishes, books even - maybe all of these things are just that - things. Things that I don't need and things that I am making a part of my life which are actually complicating my life. Maybe I don't need half the things I think I do. Maybe this whole recession thing is a blessing in disguise, a cloud with a silver lining - to use a few worn-out cliches.

Maybe it is all happening to show us that what is really important can't be lost or taken through a loss of income. Maybe now we're finally able to see the trees, not the forest.