Ownership

Most women that I know (not all) love to go shopping. Most men that I know - do not. It is women by and large that drive the economy and some seem to be in a huge spiral, a maelstrom of acquisition that fills wardrobes, drawers, kitchens and eventually whole houses with stuff.
I look around and know that much of the clutter that I am surrounded by is utterly superfluous and yet I do not have it in me to throw things away. I am not a shopper but even so I seem to gather stuff like a magnet gathers filings, and my office is a mess of bric-a-brac that only I am responsible for. I know that most of the books will never be read again, and much of the music collection will remain unplayed. I can listen to whatever i like online now and that is so much easier than putting a dic into the machine.
I have two computers, one is a reserve in case this one should let me down, and I justify the retention of most things in a similar way. I have painting materials in abundance and yet I haven't painted for years, I have lino and cutting tools, I have a plethora of add ons for various electronic things and cameras both digital and otherwise that I no longer have any use for, and yet I cannot bring myself to pass these things on.
We are by nature of our genetic disposition nest builders, and as such we are programmed to collect things. Does it make us happy? Of course not; in fact it would seem that the more we have, the less happy we become. Modern society is about instant gratification and everyone seems to want everything and want it now. When i was a kid, if you couldn't afford it you couldn't have it, plain and simple. Now it is a case of buy it now and pay later, regardless of the mountainous debts that build up.
I often wonder what it would be like to shed all posessions and start all over again. I suspect that it would mean that I'd just collect a whole new batch of rubbish!