In most
parishes in the Diocese of Rochester, summer is a quieter time of the
year. (Lake communities are an
exception.) Fewer meetings take place;
parishioners take vacations; Faith Formation sessions are on break for the most
part. Summer provides an opportunity to
slow down and relax.
That being so, I’m taking a little
time to take inventory of my “stuff”. By
“stuff” I mean all the things I’ve accumulated over the years, including mounds
of paper containing minutes from meetings, financial statements, articles that
could be beneficial to read, presentations I’ve given over the years, etc. Additional “stuff” includes knickknacks,
recordings, books, etc. As I’ve admitted
in the past, I’m somewhat organizationally challenged.
The process is slow-going because I
have to look through each piece of paper to decide whether or not it ought to
be kept. Do I really need bank
statements from years back? (Mostly
no.) Do I really need minutes from a
committee meeting that took place at a different parish while I was there? (Not likely.)
What about bills I paid years ago or directories from years ago? (Why do I still have these?) Clearly I don’t throw away a lot of “stuff”.
However, I’m determined to change
that.
Except it’s not that easy.
While I’m pretty good for the first 10
or 15 minutes—my throw-away pile is larger than my “keep” pile in the beginning—after
that initial burst of downsizing enthusiasm, sentimentality begins to kick in
and the “keep” pile starts to grow and soon overtakes the “throw-away”
pile. That’s because amidst the “stuff”
are many meaningful cards and gifts.
They remind me of the person who gave them to me or of a pleasant memory
from the past. Do I really want to
remove the tangible connection to those memories? Too often I weaken and give in to
sentimentality.
I’m
not sure that’s a good thing. Not that I
think being a little sentimental is bad, but when sentimentality leads to a
certain sense of paralysis (not being able to part with “stuff”), there is a
problem. Being too attached to anything
(other than God) isn’t the healthiest way to be. “Stuff” (which in its wider meaning can
include living things like people and animals) ought not be the focus of
life. God is the focus of life; for the
Catholic Christian the focus of life is the Trinity: God the Father, God the
Son, God the Holy Spirit. God provides
direction and meaning to life in a way “stuff” never can. I believe that whole-heartedly, even as I
struggle with detachment from “stuff”.
Fortunately, God is amazingly patient with me—with all of us
actually—although I think God likes to see some positive effort as we journey
through life. God does hope that we are
learning what really matters in the long run.
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