It’s all too much

I haven’t posted much this week because we’ve been a tad busy. Last week, while I was in Wisconsin, our hot water tank leaked in our basement. We’ve had to empty our basement, replace the underpad, and generally deal with the hassle of another flood. Looks like the damage will be about $3,000 $3,710, which the gas company will be covering. I’m grateful for that.

Floods in our basement have become a May long weekend tradition. It all started five years ago. It used to be my favorite weekend of the year. Not anymore!

This has all made me think of Peter Walsh’s book It’s All Too Much, or on the more thoughtful side, a book like Affluenza. Where did all this stuff come from, and how did it end up being a burden? I wish I could have the retail value of all the stuff we had in our basement.

Seth Godin reminds us that more used to be, well, more: “More has been around for thousands of years. Kings ate more than peasants. Winning armies had more weapons than losing ones. Elizabeth Taylor had more husbands than you.”

Although Godin takes his post in a different direction, I’d argue that more has become too much. We crave simplicity now, to be freed from the burden of more stuff.

If you can’t manage this on your own, a flood’s not a bad way to go. I’m free next May long weekend if you need any help.