Clutter Part 2

I cried when my daughter threw out 20 old (unused but all different types) paper napkins that I had stashed on the lower shelf of the little table that was next to my “tv chair.”

Well, it really wasn’t because of the paper napkins. It was because of the things she was saying about me and my life (she was rather harsh) (but then, again, who else but a daughter can say these things so directly to her mother) (and they were true, sigh).

And yet, and yet. There were 20 old (unused) paper napkins on this shelf next to this chair. In my living room. Where, theoretically, I entertain guests, including my daughter.

(More about that, later. The implications are too great to take in all in one writing session.)

I did obtain from the library the book I referenced in the previous blog, and found a new book, which is as important, if not for me, then for the world to read and to know about:

Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel, Sierra Club Books, 1994. His dedication reads: This book is dedicated to my parents, and to my sons and their future children.

and

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio, Material World Books & Ten Speed Press, 2005, published in China.

Looking at both of these books, reading them, learning from the individuals of one country after another, cultures different from my own, learning from family to family, different and yet with the same cares and dreams, meditating on the beautiful and extraordinary photographs. This is a path for me to incorporate that which I want to know: what is it that is truly necessary to me, for my daily life and for my spirit.