Quote:
Originally Posted by Scumbag  Asking yourself the simple question, Is this making my life more productive? If the answer is no, it goes. |
What if it doesn't make your life more productive, but does add to your enjoyment of life?
For example, chatting to friends on MSN doesn't make my life more productive. In fact, it's quite the opposite in some cases. Does that mean I should get rid of it? But what about the enjoyment I get from it? Rather than getting rid of it entirely, I could substitute face-to-face interaction, or ensure I get all my work done before chatting. But considering the enjoyment it provides, dumping it completely doesn't make sense as long as I consider life to be about enjoying myself, rather than purely being productive.
For a more concrete example, I have a sizable collection of books, and once in a while I'll pick up and old one and read it again. In the case of fiction there's nothing to learn from them. I still enjoy it. And while a good
new story is often better than a good old one, that's not always the case. There are some stories that I could read over and over again and still enjoy each time.
That said, I've gone for long periods without MSN, and lost/given away old books that I loved, and not felt any negative feelings.
I agree that forming attachments to objects is not healthy, but I also believe that objects are fine if you get something out of having them, and don't lose anything because you've got them. And what you might "lose" is subjective.