Unemployment stories {It's Just Stuff}

Nothing.

We're left with nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Gone. Last night, someone broke into our garage and decided to go to work. They were meticulous and thorough, stealing just about everything of value in our garage. Couple sets of golf clubs, all my dad's powertools, my snowboard (which i've riden twice), 2 sets of snowboard boots, my parent's gym bags, and a pair of muddy shoes. In one quick evening, I was robbed of most of the things which I have come to enjoy over the past few weeks (golf clubs excluded). If my car hadn't been in the shop, I would have ended up losing a whole lot more. There's nothing quite like getting robbed which puts into sharp focus what is and isan't important in your life. Am I pissed? Of course. But more than anything, there's nothing I can really do but shake my head and move on.

But what is it about being robbed that makes you feel so violated? It's just stuff. Material things that ad agencies all over america work tirelessly to make you believe that you need. Granted, they do a pretty dang good job about it, but nonetheless it's stuff which we could live without. But why should I feel so violated/wronged about it? They didn't enter our house. My health is intact. There was no bodily of physical harm done to me or anyone in the house. They just came and took some things from the garage. Things that can be easily replaced. Things which shouldn't have that much sentimental/emotional value attached to them. They are inanimate objects which we have somehow been duped to believe add value and importance to our lives. But why? Why is it that this society we live in make us believe that the person with the most stuff, wins? Is it the notion that we have just one life to live? Or is it that that we are slowly believing that we are what we own? This nation is driven by how much money we spend. How much profit each corporation can squeeze out of the things we buy. Only in this society do we see people taking out a second mortgage on their house in order to get more stuff. To buy a bigger and better tv, because the current one just doesn't measure up to your neighbors. To have the latest and greatest gadget, even though you're not really sure why you need it in the first place. Do these things make you feel safe? Significant? Important? I dunno about you guys, but periodically I think it would be refreshing to lay out all your material possesions in front of you and play dictator. Subjects before their master. Unrelenting tyranny without so much as a whisper of opposition. Kim Jong Il eat your heart out!!

But what really matters? My family and I are safe. No harm came to us. And with that fact alone, I'm content. The things that mattered the most to me were sleeping in the room next to mine, unaware of what was transpiring in the garage. In the end, all they got away with was just stuff.