We collect, scavenge, accumulate, and grange. Our baubles, our tchotchkes, our curios. They have been apart of our lives for a very long time now. I won't claim to know the history or the psychology of this phenomenon of humans and their silly little items they adore, rather my perspective on it all.
Their is something primal here though. We tie our identities in the things we surround ourselves with, the things that strike out against all the muck of the world. Why did we choose to collect and keep care of the thing we picked up in 5th grade on the sidewalk?
Our treasures and why we pick them are very much apart of us. I believe when it comes to our personal type of trinkets we hold dear it surpasses what materialism stands for. We do put emphasis on the things we have emotional ties to.
I think for the majority it is the tactileness of a memory or feeling that is anchored within an object. The analog nature of an object is really what encompasses it. Seeing it again, holding it, can bring back what may have slipped in the past simply by our memory alone. The bauble is quite literally magic in that regards.
Our memories and emotions may graduate an object and transfer onto another and that is quite okay. It's common for many of us to keep onto things that are sentimental just for sentimental sakes, almost shells of what they used to do for us.
I'm not minimalist in any regards nor do I advise that you toss these items, that is a sacred decision between you and yourself. But we must make sure we don't hold onto so many of those almost shells or actual shells and have no room for anything new to remind us of more recent experiences.
There is also an aspect of the customization of our personality with our objects. To stand out from the beige and bland of life with things we feel represent what lies inside of us. Keychains, stickers, our clothing and especially our accessories, and it goes even beyond the physical realm. The words we choose to engrain in our lives, the music we listen to, the movies we watch.
Nostalgia must not be something merely reflected back to you in pixels. It must be tangible to fully experience those waves of memories and novelty. But I do caution against the rise in the capitalization and entrapment of holding memories hostage for monetary gain. While there is a merit of finding items back to restored and revitalized conditions under an economic throw back, not all of the items from our past need to be sought through those methods to reclaim them.
Too many of us put our photographs in photo boxes, our childhood items in attics, and toss the things you collected as a child out of embarrassment. We've become ashamed of them out of fear of what others might think, or even not want to be reminded of the emotional attachments with the items. The rigid self imposed decor laws prevent some from proudly displaying what their heart adores.
This is what minimalism pushes for. Or at least one of the things. I'm not denying that there are some who have a hoarding problem, but I believe there are some not so good philosophical errors within mainstream minimalism.
With the rise of sleek modern technology we've started to drop tactile and analog methods. The trends of bare walls and beige paint have flooded the various aesthetic industries. We've rather look at screens of what we like rather than experiencing them in person. Instead of collecting little physical reminders of our trips, we download more data to fill the void cheaply.
We need to use more beautiful things in our everyday lives. Since the industrial age, craftsmen have faded into the background. And hey I get it, hand crafted objects are more expensive then cheap massly produced items. Therefor I urge a focus on second hand, borrowed, repurposed, etc. If you already own a good spoon but it's plain, paint it, claim it as your own and treat it well and it will treat you back well.
There is a human need for interacting with the world on a more grounded level. Use physical CDs. Read paper books. Get back into nature and physically ground yourself. Collect and care for plants you enjoy looking at, not just on a screen.
All of this is not to say we shouldn't be viewing our physical possessions as more important than other things. People and yourself will always be more important. It's not worth going back into a burning house for a memory, when your own future memories are at stake.
There is balance to be found in everything- but shed the shame and guilt over being a human with baubles. They are apart of us. There are stories and quantum energy in everything we hold dear in the physical realm. Do not waste your life on digital experiences and materials that drain you slowly over time. Not to say you can't have a digital life, it is one of the most nearly inevitable parts of living in our day and age.
Seek the joy your human side wants.
