Episode 39: Unnecessary Possessions

Oscar Wilde, a dandy’s dandy, once said that “we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.” What unnecessary possession can you not live without?

So, I sat here for a while, thinking about this one. What unnecessary possession can I not live withou? At first I thought my laptop. But then I really thought about that. It's not true. I need my laptop for school (essays, term papers, research), for writing (Word, research), the internet (to connect, to friends and other lifestylers, to learn from them as I am unable to go to munches and parties right now, to job hunt, to amuse myself, to listen to music, to research, to check my bank account and pay a few bills) and therefore it is not an unnecessary possession.

Then I thought that some of my clothes were unnecessary, which this is true, but I'm just generalizing here, and clothes are necessaties where I come from. lol.

So, I glanced around my room. Pens? Necessary for writing. Paper? Necessary for writing. Books? Necessary for my (in)sanity. CDs? Necessary for my (in)sanity. Puppy? Necessary for daily playtimes. Stuffed animals? Necessary for cuddling and sleeping, especially when sleeping alone (as I always am). Blankies? Necessary for sleeping and nap time and the cold weather.

Those are the general things in my room. But! I have found two things that aren't really necessary. One is my skim board and two is my alter.

The skim board. I bought it 2 years or so ago. Now, on the east coast it's kind of difficult to surf so skim boarding is as close as I will ever get to surfing. But, I'm not really good at it. This could be because the board isn't the right size for me to evenly distribute my weight and therefore balance the board properly and because I have one of the cheap boards instead of one of the $120 beautiful ones that I want. Even so, this board is unnecessary in my life and yet, I can't live without it. I love this thing. Can't explain why, but I do. I thought about giving it to my little cousin who is better at skim boarding than me...couldn't do it. I couldn't part with the damn thing. For some reason, it is an unnecessary object that I can not live with out.

And my alter. Now, to a Pagen or Wiccan their alter is extremely important to their craft and necessary. Not to me. I don't necessarily need it. I could put everything away in a drawer and only bring it out when it's time for a ritual or holiday. And yet, it seems that I can't do that. It is necessary to me to have my alter out and pristine at all times. My alter is my ultimate, unnecessary possession that I can not live without.