Stupid materialism

[bigfishlittlefish]

I am confident that at some point within the next year I will be able to ctb. I've made peace with dying and am actually looking forward to the release from the various types of pain I'm in .

It's really stupid, but the only thing that's making me feel anything negative about the whole thing is what will happen to all my stuff afterwards. I'm 40, I've got a whole house's worth of stuff, a lifetime's worth of stuff. Nice stuff, things that I've saved or worked hard for. Things I've collected from my various adventures in life, travels around the world.

I don't have any family apart from my parents, and they're not really going to want any of it. My friends are all settled in their own homes and either have everything they already need or can afford whatever they want. So I don't know what to do with all my things. My life.

Is it all just going to get given away, like my life never happened? The things I have which have significant meaning behind them will all be lost, the meaning lost, the stories or memories lost. Things that were my grandma's, who I loved so much, will just be given to charity shops? These things that are so special won't be important to anyone any more. Treasures, suddenly valueless.

I know a life is more than the objects in it, but it somehow still feels like if all the stuff becomes valueless, somehow that devalues the life that they came from as well.

I dunno. Maybe I'm being stupid. Maybe I'm attaching too much meaning to material things? But I wear my late grandma's wedding ring always, and it's things like that which I am so sad to think of just going.. I don't know where, afterwards.

 

[stevieu]

This is something I've thought quite a lot about too and I wouldn't say it is stupid in the slightest. It does evoke some conflicting feelings though.

I have wondered what will become of my stuff and if anyone will want it, or more so, take care of it and appreciate it like I have. But why should I care if I'm no longer around to know? Dammit. I could probably put things in order in a will, but then I still question what might happen and if those wishes would even be met.

I also don't like the thought of my belongings being a burden and meaningless. It's probably another layer of survival instinct kicking in I guess.

 

[Account unknown]

I am confident that at some point within the next year I will be able to ctb. I've made peace with dying and am actually looking forward to the release from the various types of pain I'm in .

It's really stupid, but the only thing that's making me feel anything negative about the whole thing is what will happen to all my stuff afterwards. I'm 40, I've got a whole house's worth of stuff, a lifetime's worth of stuff. Nice stuff, things that I've saved or worked hard for. Things I've collected from my various adventures in life, travels around the world.

I don't have any family apart from my parents, and they're not really going to want any of it. My friends are all settled in their own homes and either have everything they already need or can afford whatever they want. So I don't know what to do with all my things. My life.

Is it all just going to get given away, like my life never happened? The things I have which have significant meaning behind them will all be lost, the meaning lost, the stories or memories lost. Things that were my grandma's, who I loved so much, will just be given to charity shops? These things that are so special won't be important to anyone any more. Treasures, suddenly valueless.

I know a life is more than the objects in it, but it somehow still feels like if all the stuff becomes valueless, somehow that devalues the life that they came from as well.

I dunno. Maybe I'm being stupid. Maybe I'm attaching too much meaning to material things? But I wear my late grandma's wedding ring always, and it's things like that which I am so sad to think of just going.. I don't know where, afterwards.

Keep the wedding rings and take them with you. Same for anything else small that has such sentimental value if you have nobody to give them to, have it written down that you want to be buried with them. For the rest of your stuff it's just a needless attachment. If you're set on CTB then you won't need any of it anymore.

A couple of suggestions could be to either sell as much as you can and use the money to do something you'd enjoy and maybe not normally be able to afford and enjoy yourself one last time or even give the money to a charity or something of your choice.

I'd only recommend either of those options if you're absolutely certain about what you want to do though. You don't wanna change your mind and regret selling all of your stuff.

 

[little helpers]

here's where your collection can possibly go, at your own wish of course: the Suicide Museum, and another one, Museum of Death (they even have an original suicide machine there). you may also consider donating them to shelters and homeless organizations if you value the practical use more.

materialism is bad stuff *when overdone* but we're talking 'bout the meanings you find in those items here. your attachment to things and how they've become part of you or your memories. it's very normal. doesn't have to be something of your own creation to deserve it "living on". it's living on in a sense, I think. what we can still bring to others even after our death.

 

[GentleJerk]

It's not stupid at all. You have brought up a very valid subject that I think is a major issue for basically every person who isnt some kind of monk that has renounced all worldly possessions. It's one of the most difficult to deal with.

Life is so centered around possessions, like you said people work their whole lives for them. They form memories, meaning, and people quantify their existence by what they have. What to do with all my stuff is a huge concern of mine too. I want them to be appreciated and used but also don't want them toburden anyone. In the end possessions end up owning you!

Keep the wedding rings and take them with you. Same for anything else small that has such sentimental value if you have nobody to give them to, have it written down that you want to be buried with them.

This is actually really good advice. Take with you precious things that ought not be sold, and that others wont appreciate. Give whatever else you can to others who will need/appreciate it... And sell the rest.

 

[bigfishlittlefish]

It's not stupid at all. You have brought up a very valid subject that I think is a major issue for basically every person who isnt some kind of monk that has renounced all worldly possessions. It's one of the most difficult to deal with.

Life is so centered around possessions, like you said people work their whole lives for them. They form memories, meaning, and people quantify their existence by what they have. What to do with all my stuff is a huge concern of mine too. I want them to be appreciated and used but also don't want them toburden anyone. In the end possessions end up owning you!


This is actually really good advice. Take with you precious things that ought not be sold, and that others wont appreciate. Give whatever else you can to others who will need/appreciate it... And sell the rest.

I'm being cremated, so I don't know if that will work.

 

[Fadeawaaaay]

I have a lot of amazing stuff collected over a couple generations. But I am so numb I guess I don't really care what happens to it. I would like it distributed among my friends so somebody can appreciate it. But that would be weird and alarming to do ahead of time.

 

[FuneralCry]

We can get attached to many objects, and I'm sure that many people feel a similar way. I see everything as being meaningless, eventually we will all die and be forgotten. Life is just a pointless experience that we go through for the sake of it. Once we die, we cannot experience anything, so I believe that whatever happens afterwards does not matter to us. I wish you the best.

 

[Snake of Eden]

I understand sentimentality attached to objects. I personally have almost zero attachement to objects as the only thing I hold dear to my heart are emotions and memories. I do get fascinated with things like clothes and accessories but once I accumulated some nice stuff the novelty wore off very quick and I never really care to buy more things. I think it is cultural too. Im from middle east but i lived in Canada for 10 years and I noticed how different our cultures are in terms of being connected to objects. One example of that is house decorations, nicknacks and accessories and how important they are in the west for people to feel home. While I understand the appeal of living in a nice place and having nice looking things around you but I always felt the western way of doing it is very excessive. Where Im from you dont find people put alot of effort into accumulating house accessories. It is very simple furniture that you need that looks nice and thats it. No portraits, no vases, no mirrors, no chandeliers, no pictures and frames, no book library to show off that you read (i read books snobbery). I personally love minimalist and down to earth approach to living. For some reason having too many things around does not feel right or comfortable. I think it is nice to have nice and good place to live, I just dislike excessiveness and extravagance with clutter. Just like money and wealth, you wont take any of that with you when you die

 

[Darkover]

the only thing i ever cared for was my laptop pc programming projects i did have everything i've ever created from 2004-2016 but lost it due to a brain injury, over 100,000 lines of code 500,000 words, none of it even matters anyway it's all just for nothing in the end.

 

[Rational man]

I believe it is the attachment to objects that makes us sad. Ive left my home to an animal charity. That gives me comfort in knowing that creatures will be helped. In the end we all leave everything behind.

 

[ElderRecluse]

I have eight decades of accumulation of stuff in my home. I'm not all that attached to any of it. The only way it comes into my CTB plans is I'm sad to pass the burden onto my son to deal with it all. But, I just don't have the physical or mental capability to deal with it ahead of time. There are a few things he will be glad to have, but mostly it will just be dealing with disposing of most of the stuff. He and I have kidded each other over the years about how we accumulate stuff. I've even heckled him some about how he'll have to deal with all this crap when I'm gone.

Sorry, just rambling about my problem. I'm sorry I don't have any good solution to offer for yours.

 

[Crazy4u]

I started getting rid of my things and keep throwing stuff away every few months to simplify. I only keep materials I need until I CTB!!