[Sat 10/10: 5 miles; Wed 10/14: 4.4 miles Sat 10/17: 5 miles; Mon 10/19: 3 miles]
I had a conversation with our insurance agent last week. She asked me to come in for a meeting to review our insurance and financial plans. We did this last year also. She wants to sell me whole-life insurance and I’m not excited about that idea.
But the interesting part of our conversation was about the accumulation of possessions. She likes to throw things out while her husband doesn’t.
I told her I am more like the husband. I think it is bad to be throwing things away when they could be fixed or are still usable. (I’m not consistent in that position. Things I don’t like I would gladly throw away. If you gave me a brand new ink-jet printer I would be happy to throw it straight in the trash. Even owning one is encouraging bad behavior on the part of the manufacturer, in my opinion.)
So we talked just briefly about the moral weight of possessions. You buy this thing, say it is an antique or has special value in some way. Maybe it is expensive or is a cultural artifact like a piece of art by a known artist. Suddenly you are the steward of this object and you have to treat it right and pass it along to the next generation. Uf-Dah!
You can’t just pitch it in the trash now, you have to find someone else worthy to pass it along to. (One measure of worthiness is how much they can/are willing to spend to acquire and maintain it!)
I think that kind of attitude is both laudable and messed up. I vacillate between the two.