The Power Of STUFF
by; Floyd Spiva Jr.
Copyright-2009
Your Stuff, my Stuff, her Stuff or his Stuff. Seldom will you ever find anything on a person's body, in their home, their car or a secret hiding place that means more to them on a deep personal basis than their "Stuff". Stuff, as a rule, defines who they are, who they want to be and what they have been or achieved.
I would defy you to explicitly describe or exactly define what comprises, "Stuff". Is it animal, vegetable, mineral, or a combination of all three? Most likely it's all of those. Some a mixture, others not. Size, shape, texture and use will vary greatly, depending on a number of criteria. The reason you can't specifically describe or define "Stuff", is because there is no specific criteria that an object or thing must meet to be correctly defined as being honest to goodness "Stuff". When it comes to Stuff, the old adage, "One person's junk is another's treasure", totally applies.
So, why do I say that Stuff has power? I say so from both personal experience and observation of others. A persons age, gender, social standing or level of education, plays no part in identifying what constitutes real identifiable Stuff and who is justified in having, owning or cherishing their Stuff. The sad fact is that we, as a society, have ignored the importance of Stuff. We as parents, children, grandchildren, friends or just strangers have miserably failed to recognize that Stuff can often be the difference in a person feeling loved, wanted, respected, successful or understood.
This type of discrimination is usually carried out against the elderly, the people who have, in someone's opinion, wrongly or foolishly kept things that weren't important. Items that had no obvious intrinsic value, things that quiet possibly you wouldn't let near your home or private place of solitude. No indeed, why in the world would anyone want to keep such old, outdated, oddball, long past it's usefulness objects? Especially why would anyone in their "right mind" want to pack away or place in an out of the way place, "junk", I would have trashed months if not years ago.....The answer is, "because it's "their" STUFF".
Like overhead circling vultures, family, friends and anyone who can take part, descends on the homes of those who, for what ever reason, find it necessary to relocate or change their lifestyle. Most often for the elderly it's health issues that creates a need to alter their lifestyle....When that happens the vultures descend and begin deciding what the affected person can keep and what is "junk" they have no earthly use for... That is when the emotional damage besets the person or persons being affected. Those making the decisions about what is kept, what is "junked", or what is taken home by someone else, has little appreciation or understanding about what comprises cherished "STUFF". They have no concept or realization of The Power of Stuff.
"STUFF" are those items that may have no importance to others, but holds cherished memories of the past for the owner. Stuff may be an odd object that connects a past relationship. Stuff may be only a child's worn or even broken toy, or Stuff may be some nondescript item that represents an important period of success. Stuff may be an insignificant piece of something or object that ties one's past and present together in a special bond. Stuff can be a Bible, a photo, a piece of furniture or just a keepsake, or even an old tool. Stuff is a person's life history, hopes, desires and very often the key to emotional stability. Take away their Stuff, and you may be taking away their reason for continuing to exist.
If you have a parent, a grandparent, other relative or just a close friend who has reached a point in time where their lifestyle needs to be altered in some manner, keep in mind that what ever the reason for change, their overall well being and health issues are at stake. Unnecessary taking away of their STUFF may have a more lasting emotional affect on them than anything else they experience. Be very selective about removing their Stuff from them. Great memories is like Stuff in a box, as long as they exist life will be far more robust and easier to achieve on a comfortable level....... That's, The Power of Stuff.
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