The Hardest Lesson I Learned About 'Stuff'
Dear Son,
I watched a video the other day — a man talking about how he once owned four cheese graters even though he rarely ate cheese.
It made me laugh at first... and then it made me ache a little.
Because at 73 years old, I can't tell you how many things I bought on sale thinking, "I'll use this someday."
Years later, all I had to show for it was junk I had to throw out, donate, or shove into another overstuffed closet.
I thought I was being smart — catching deals, preparing for a future that never came exactly the way I pictured it.
What I was really doing was distracting myself.
I was trying to fill something inside me that no amount of "stuff" was ever going to fix.
At first, it was easy to tell myself I was just being practical.
Everyone else seemed to be doing it too.
But over time, all that clutter started to weigh heavier than I could explain.
It wasn't just the closets.
It was my mind.
It was my spirit.
The truth is, son, if I had understood earlier what I know now, I would have done life radically differently.
I would have chosen fewer things.
I would have made more space — not just in my house, but in my heart.
I would have trusted that I didn't need more "stuff" to prove anything to anyone.
I would have spent my time collecting experiences, not junk.
Conversations, not gadgets.
Quiet moments, not noisy possessions.
I would have realized that the peace I kept searching for in things could only ever be found by letting go of the things themselves.
I would have realized that… a simple life isn't a small life — it's a life lived wide open.
If I had a son, I'd want him to hear this:
Don't waste your precious life chasing things you think will fill a hole inside you.
Own what you truly need.
Cherish what truly matters.
Let the rest go before it ever piles up and becomes a burden you have to sort through someday.
Because someday comes faster than you think.
And real wealth — real peace — has nothing to do with how much you accumulate.
It has everything to do with how little you need to feel whole.
Love,
Dad
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