I've just been cleaning my room... yeah I know, no big deal... but it was so damn difficult!!!! I'm pretty neat and organised... the problem lies elsewhere. Observations from my round of cleaning up:
1] I'm a pro-recycling person. I used to think this was some kind of phase... but I realise it's actually a habit.. one that can be irritating at times. Not only did I put away papers that had one side blank in a separate folder, I actually hoarded envelopes, put them in a big manila envelope that I stuck a post it onto (so I could use the big one too :P) and marked the Post-it. Knowing me, I'll even keep the post-it in my purse at a later date to scribble a number or address. Obsessive!!!!
2] I'm a bloody magpie. I hoard so much!!!! Among other things, I have receipts, bus tickets, train tickets, notes scrawled in class, various odd pieces of paper I just don't have the heart to throw away. Why???? They remind me of the day it was and seem a much better, more vibrant way of storing my memories... I don't really write a diary so I guess this is a good way. I wanted to put them away in an envelope... but I took some and stuck them up on my notice board... when my folks visit they can have a good laugh seeing it all... but my first bus, train, movie tickets in London and an old railway ticket from Mumbai really do hold a lot of value to me.... the scars that a warrior collected and show how she lived... or some such metaphor :P
The problem is... I'll have to take so much more when I move out... sigh. Besides, if I really do stick to my original plan of destroying my tangible memories before I die, a la Jacqueline Kennedy.. I'll have a hell lot to get rid of.
Living may be easy, may not, Death may be fearsome, may not... the difficulty or ease come from the memories that you gather and leave behind. These are my memories... I wonder what memories of me shall be like
Welcome to the club. I can totally understand what goes through your mind to keep such "trinkets". When I left my hostel, I had a whole bunch of stuff which I woul dnot have wanted to get rid of. A lot of these items are still with me, but most of them had to be disposed of, due to some bad planning on my part. The point here is that those items defined me. I began to identify myself through them. An old carton containing some old CDs, another containing some old and expired bottles of shampoo, flicked from a hotel room, a box of old books...the list was endless. I loved my life in college and I must say, disposing of most of these things was more than difficult, it was downright impossible. These things had so become a part of me, I could not bear to trash them. I still have fond memories though, and that is something that cannot be thrown away. Guess that'll have to suffice.
ReplyDeleteNot to sound heavily philosophical but its this desire to try and not leave stuff behind that makes people stagnant in life. I'm more of your sort than you are, and i know its not good. But sometimes that is all that you are left with, memories and a few objects. Keep them with you. And if you need help while moving out, you know whom to call. :)
ReplyDeleteword verification : ZWOSA :D :P OEDSM?? :P
ReplyDeleteKshitij: Heya K!!! Do I take it that you're missing my banter so much that you actually resorted to checking the blog... or is it just plan boredom??? hehehe... I'm wondering how much of your old stuff you have in your new flat... other than Wild Weasel of course... guess you had to trash quite a bit there.. memories are but everyone's unmtched treasures.. I'm not sure I shall be very senti about trashing though... damn 'unpredictable' I am sometimes :)
Winger: Winger!!!!! My fave commentor is back!!! I rather like these comment conversations we have... guess you're my favourite reader then... hehehe.
But, I don't agree that holding on to something makes life stagnant, I think it's more of anchor... like Steve Waugh once said 'How do we know where to go if we don't know where we come from'.. memories define us, how we've lived, they tell us what changed, why, where to go, what to do... it's all you're left with sometimes and it's not a bad thing really. And yes, I'm taking a rain check on that offer :) meantime, what say we gather some memories together?? :)
I do that too. Apart from memories they're the only physical manifestation of time gone past. I suppose feeling them in the hands can and possibly does transport one back. Eventually they become a part of oneself, inducing loyalty in us, and so they remain.
ReplyDeleteAnil: That is so true.. I just realised I'd saved smses from two years previously... geez am obsessive!
ReplyDelete