[edgtf_dropcaps type=”normal” color=”#d6a67c” background_color=””]V[/edgtf_dropcaps]iata are un mod ciudat de a se repeta. Exista de fapt cicluri in viata sau chiar in diverse domenii si e important sa inveti din experientele tale de viata sau din povestile unor oameni in varsta. Incerc sa fac asta de cand ma stiu. Pana la urma se spune ca prostul nu invata nici din greselile lui. Hai sa fiu desteapta, imi zic. Hai sa invat din greselile tuturor!

Si totusi uneori se intampla evenimente unice la care nu te-ai gandit vreodata. In viata noastra ne asteptam sa vina sfarsitul lumii sau un razboi, dar a aparut o pandemie care a dus la masuri fara precedent: inchiderea in casa a unei populatii extrem de active. Si in contextul actualei izolari, am ajuns sa ma linistesc singura si sa imi dau seama ca am nevoie de acest timp sa fac ordine in viata mea fizic si psihic. Din cand in cand avem nevoie de un concediu. Cumva sigur multi oameni aveau nevoie de o vacanta. Se vorbea prea mult despre „burnout”. Si iata ca a aparut fix oportunitatea unica pentru acel timp pentru tine, pentru casa, pentru familie, pentru micul dejun, pranz si cina impreuna. Petrec timp in casa cu copilul si sotul. E cel mai complicat lucru, va jur, sa il tin in casa cand el este invatat sa mergem mereu in parc si are energie si se plictiseste de acelasi loc si vrea sa facem mereu lucruri noi. Apoi activitatile zilnice includ putin sport. Este o provocare cu un copil mic in preajma, dar ma ajuta incapatanarea sa fac totusi ceva exercitiu fizic. Si mai sunt activitatile casnice: dupa ce speli si ordonezi toate hainele, constati ca trebuie sa o iei de la capt. Mai poti gati. Am facut si asta din plin.

Apoi mi-am adus aminte ca nu mai gasesc ceva. Si uite asa m-am apucat sa caut si automat sa organizez din nou casa. Si daca stau sa ma gandesc am un scop temporar  in viata. Sa pun ordine in tot ce am in casa. Nu am mai facut asta dinainte sa se nasca fiul meu. Si atunci mi-am luat doua saptamani inainte sa nasc sa fac ordine in lucrurile din casa. A fost minunat! Am uitat rapid dupa unde era fiecare obiect. Am cumparat a doua oara ce mai aveam deja, dar este in regula. Am decis sa impart dublurile. Pentru perioada asta am si o lista lunga de filme pe care voiam sa le vad sau sa le revad. Si o lista de carti achizitionate digital pe care nu am apucat sa le citesc vreodata.

Si organizand eu asa prin lucruri mi-au aparut dilemele zilei:

• Ce se intampla cu abonamentele la IBooks sau Kindle dupa ce moare o persoana? Le vad ca pe o investitie si e biblioteca pe care de obicei o mosteneai fizic. Adica zilele astea mama a facut ordine in biblioteca si mi-a ales cateva carti pentru copilul meu. Acestea imi vor umple fizic biblioteca. Dar eu am cumparat carti digitale ca sa salvez spatiul fizic. Oare fiul meu le va primi vreodata?
• Cum am rezistat, copil fiind, la revolutia din 1989, sa stau in casa vreo doua saptamani? Imi amintesc ca ne jucam pe sub canapelele si ne adaposteam de povestile cu gloante si ne cream povesti de pace si razboi in timpul evenimentelor din 1989. Acum, ca ma uit in urma, mi se pare hilar, cat de speriati eram de gloante si nu aveam motive puternice, desi locuiam in Bucuresti. Mi-a placut atitudinea parintilor mei care au fost mai detasati si au stiut de atunci ca e doar o lovitura de stat care trebuie lasata sa isi parcurga cursul normal.
• Ce facem cu toate lucrurile pe care le adunam in casa? Adica eu, spre exemplu, am sortat lucruri vechi de la copil, caci creste repede, obiecte si lucruri folositoare. Pe langa astea, am primit tot felul de obiecte decorative pe care, sincer, nu fac decat sa stranga praf sau sa il puna pe copil in pericol. Am decis ca voi strange toate aceste lucruri si nu stiu ce sa fac cu ele. Cu tot respectul fata de oamenii frumosi din viata mea care au dat banii pe ele. Nu inseamna ca nu mi le doresc, doar ca imi umplu casa de jucarii si nu apuc nici pe alea sa le exploatez la maxim. Noroc ca fiul meu este foarte inventiv si cauta mereu sa redescopere utilizari pentru jucarii.
• Si cand duc gunoiul dau peste plase de lucruri vechi de la vecini, de alte obiecte inutile intregi dar aruncate. Si toata lumea pare ca isi elibereaza casa zilele astea. Va fi cu siguranta o schimbare in habitatul fiecaruia. Oare groapa de gunoi cine o va elibera? Oare copiii nostri vor avea un aer respirabil?

Nu am acasa suficiente cutii pentru tot ce am de ordonat si dat. Noroc cu cartile digitale, ca altfel aveam si o biblioteca vasta de sters de praf. Dar chiar e vremea sa scap de anumite lucruri care imi inghesuie existenta. Imi doresc sa inteleg din aceasta experienta cat de mult am nevoie sa nu mai adun lucruri inutile.

As vrea sa aflu voi ce raspunsuri aveti pentru aceste intrebari si ce faceti cu obiectele inutile.

Time to give up on things

[edgtf_dropcaps type=”normal” color=”#d6a67c” background_color=””]L[/edgtf_dropcaps]ife has strange way of repeating itself. It happened to me several times and I have started to learn there are actually cycles in life and in various fields which require evolution, therefore it is important to learn from your life experiences or from older people’s life stories. I have been trying to do so since forever. After all there is a saying mentioning the fool doesn’t learn anything even from his mistakes. Let’s be smart, I would say to myself. Let’s learn from everyone’s mistakes!

And then a unique event takes place and nothing prepared you for it. I guess we were all imagining how the end of the world would come or a third world war would happen, but a pandemic brought along unprecedented measures: locking down a very active population from everywhere. And in the context of the current lockdown I learned to calm down and realize I needed this time to put some order in my life both physically and mentally. From time to time we all need a vacation. Somehow a lot of people needed such time off. There was often mention of „burnout” syndrome. So here is the perfect opportunity for yourself, for the home, for family, for breakfast, lunch and dinner together. So now I spend time inside the house with the kid. It’s the most complicated thing, I swear, to hold him inside when he was used to always go out, play in the park and do stuff all the time. And also daily activities include a bit of physical exercise. It’s a challenge with a little one around, but this makes me more stubborn to do something about this. Or the house work: after you wash and put order into all the clothes, you have to start over. A, and you can cook. I have done plenty of that too.

Then I remembered I cannot find something. And this is how I started looking and putting a different order on the house objects. And as I think of it, I believe I have transformed this it into a temporary purpose in life: to rearrange all the stuff in the house. I haven’t done this since before my son was born. Then I took two weeks off before giving birth, to reorganize everything to my future needs. It was lovely! I quickly forgot where everything was. I bought twice things that I already had in the house, but that’s fine. I decided to share the doubles. For now I have a long list of movies that I wanted to watch or rewatch. And a list of digital purchased books that I never got to read.

And as I was arranging things, here are the dilemmas of the day:

• What happens to purchases made on Apple Books or Kindle after a person dies? I mean I see them as an investment and it’s a library which you usually pass on to your kids or loved ones. These days gave my mom the chance to recap on the kids stories to pass on to me for my kid.These will fill up my bookshelves. But what will happen to my digital purchases bought to save space? Will my son ever get them?
• How did I hang on as a kid to sit inside the house for two weeks during the 1989 revolution? I remember we were playing under the couches and we were creating our own peace and war stories during the events in 1989. Looking back now at all those times now, I find it hilarious, how scared we were of the bullet stories and we really had no real threat, although we were living in Bucharest. I really loved my parents attitude who were more relaxed and they knew since those days it was just a coup d’État which needs to take its normal course.
• What do we do with all the stuff we gather in our houses? I mean, I personally sorted a lot of old baby stuff, he grows really fast, objects and useful stuff. We also received all sorts of house decorations which are lovely and useless and gather a lot of dust endangering the baby. I have decided to get these things together, but have no plan for them. With all do respect for the beautiful people in my life who spent their money one them. It doesn’t mean I don’t want them, it’s just that I would rather have my house full of toys and I cannot exploit those to the fullest. I am lucky my son is very resourceful and is always looking to discover new usage for older toys.
• And when taking out the garbage I run into more bags with old things from the neighbors, other useless objects in perfect condition taken out. And everyone seems to free their houses these days. It will definitely be a change in everyone’s habitat. Who will clear the landfills? Will our children still have a breathable air?

I don’t think I have at home enough boxes for all I have to sort and give away. It’s good that I have plenty of digital books or else I would need to dust off a lot of books also. But it’s time I get rid of certain things which are crowding up my existence. I wish to learn from this experience how much I need to stop gathering useless things.

I would like to hear your opinions on these questions and what purpose do you find for the useless stuff.