Things: A Blessing or Curse? Plus Four Quotes About Clutter

When I was younger, I had a philosophy of touching everything I own at least once a year. The idea was partly to be aware of what I owned so I could find it again or use it or appreciate it, and in another way it was to simply be aware of it. This was especially important with regard to all my files and folders pertaining to writing projects and/or art. Anyways, what I’m conscious of now is that as I try to downsize my possessions there are so many things we have that we’re not even aware of. Because of that, we buy things more than once, or we simply accumulate and fill space. The only thing touching much of what we own is dust because we haven’t touched it in so long.

This summer, while home with my mother for near two weeks, I decided to tackle the area on and around my father‘s workbench, which had rarely been touched and never organized since he passed away more than 15 years ago. Each time I went home, it seemed to just be sitting there with things piled on it that would never be used. On the shelves next to it were containers with contents that probably were 40 or 50 years old. Some of them would never be touched again if I didn’t open them to see if they had anything in it that was valuable. This is how I found the $1000 bill. (Just kidding.)

That experience is what motivated me to start the process of cleaning my own workbenches, in the basement and in my garage. I've found things I never knew I had. And am storing things I'll never use. 

How are you doing with your accumulated stuff? Remember, when you leave this mortal coil, you can't take it with you.

* * *

Here are a few quotes 'bout clutter to help you get movin'.

“Clutter is the physical manifestation of unmade decisions fueled by procrastination.” 
—Christina Scalise

“Outer order contributes to inner calm.” 
—Gretchen Rubin

“The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.”
―Joshua Becker

“The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don’t.”
―Marie Kondo

The Road Not Taken

I first became aware of Robert Frost when he recited a poem at the John F. Kennedy inauguration in 1961. As I was only eight, I remember it more because my mom made a big deal of it at the time, not because it really stood out on its own. Since that time I'd always assumed he was our National Poet Laureate until now when I did a little fact-checking. He was actually Poet Laureate of the State of Vermont, hence my tendency to associate him with the artist Andrew Wyeth, another famed New Englander in the arts.

Though a winner of four Pulitzer Prizes, I have to believe Frost's The Road Not Taken must be his most famous poem. I'd venture to say that this poem alone, even without Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, had sufficient muscle to make him a household name, a fairly rare occurrence amongst twentieth century poets. I've assumed that school children everywhere have studied the poem, appreciating its elegance and accessibility. The simple metaphor of making a choice during a stroll through the woods has far-reaching applications that resonate with all of us, from relationship decisions to career moves.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

The author comes to a fork in the path and ponders the possibilities of each, but because of the winding nature of what lies ahead is unable to really know how to choose. The first stanza outlines the problem. The following two stanzas reveal the storyteller's cogitations as he leaned into the former and then the latter, looking for a basis for making his decision.

In the end, he focuses on a decisive variable. Knowing that he will likely never be back at this spot again, he chose the path least travelled. That final line is an affirmation that he chose wisely.

* * * *

A forest of birches. Photo by Ryan Tischer.

This Ryan Tischer* photo provides a clue as to what kind of "yellow wood" Frost may have been meandering through, as well as the time of year. The photo, as you can see, paints a different scene. In the poem I envision rolling hills. In the image here, especially striking when it looms large, we see a relatively flat landscape with a single road, marching through rows of trees much like a headful of hair that has been parted by a fine-toothed comb.

My father was fond of white birches. When we moved to New Jersey in 1964 one of the first things he did was to plant a trio of birches near the corner of our front yard, hence my own special regard for these beautiful trees that seem especially abundant here in the Northland.

Meantime, life goes on...

* Ryan Tischer has opened a new gallery in Duluth's emerging Arts District. 

All Creative Work Involves Decisions

When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice. ~William James

There are a variety of ways to watch a film, look at a painting or listen to a piece of music. One of the ways I frequently look at movies or listen to music is to think about the decisions that went into making it.

For example, Picasso's Guernica. How did he decide on the size of the canvas? It is an enormous piece, but it speaks to the enormity of the horror in the story it tells regarding the bombing of a Basque village during the Spanish Civil War. And why black and white? I am guessing the latter because he did not want to exploit the blood red violence and was focusing our attention on the emotional trauma instead.

All creative work involves decisions. As a painter I often wrestle with this one: when is a piece truly complete?

Writers wrestle with all kinds of complexities. What is the best way to tell the story? Through the eyes of the main character, as in Crime and Punishment? Or through the eyes of another, as in To Kill a Mockingbird. Should the writer use flashbacks or avoid them? Should the story be third person or first person? Why did Jay McInerny write Bright Lights, Big City in second person? And why is the central character unnamed?

When it comes to film, all kinds of decisions must be made. Casting itself is a major decision that can make or break a film. Bonfire of the Vanities was a disastrous film because of the decisions made during casting, thoguh also in part because of the treatment Brian De Palma gave it. All the best movies are notable, in part, because of the casting. The Godfather, Reservoir Dogs, The Illusionist, Moneyball... these films work because the characters fit the bill.

Long before there's casting, every Hollywood film begins with a story. The writers of that story have decisions all along the way. Before hooking the viewer, the script must hook the reader, a potential producer. How do we introduce the characters so that it is not overwhelming? How do we introduce the story's theme? Woody Allen, in his film Blue Jasmine, begins with the screwed up Cate Blanchett unloading some of the mess that is her life to a stranger seated next to her on a plane. Within minutes we get the picture, and it devolves from there.

Hitchcock's storytelling in film is legendary. In films like Rope and Rear Window, he completely restricts the camera -- and the viewer -- to the very narrowest confines. He challenges himself while enhancing tension within the story. Of course there are all kinds of devices for heightening tension, including the music score or sound effects. Try watching Psycho with the sound track of Marx Brothers' Animal Crackers. Another device is having the audience know something that people in the film do not know as in the movie Rope where the audience is aware, but Jimmy Stewart, that there is a dead body in the room.

In music, too, countless decisions must be made. I think here of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, and specifically the climax of the third movement, it's remarkable ascending rush and faux culminations, repeated again and yet again leaving the hearer both thrilled and exhausted.

Blogging itself is one of my own creative endeavors and many decisions take place here as well. I regularly think about how I can best serve my readers and give them something original and worthwhile each day. There are a hundred million other things you could be reading, so I want to make sure you get a payoff.

Often I like to open my blog entries, and my stories, with a thought-provoking quote. If I can find something quickly and suitably pithy I may throw one in here at the beginning of this entry.

Right now I am trying to decide what graphics to use to accompany this page. I am also trying to decide whether it's maybe time to give the blog a facelift, to give it a new look.

Then there is the occasional decision as to whether I should make a Dylan reference of some kind. I think I will leave that out today.

Finally, there's the close. Fast and furious? Or a more leisurely exit? Let's see what happens.

The very best to you, and have a great day. Thanks for stopping by.