One man's trash is another man's treasure
"One man's trash is another man's treasure" - Usdictionary.com sums it up as something deemed useless or worthless by one person can be seen as valuable or beneficial by another.
Coming from a family of garage-salers, I have thought One man's trash is another man's treasure hundreds of times and no doubt, said it dozens of times. My mom and sister were/are legends in the pursuit of treasures. I am quite the opposite – I have never wanted things, treasures. Is that a sickness, affliction?
In my men’s group this week the leader asked if there was anything passed down to you from a parent or something from them that you want passed down, and my answer was “I have never wanted or coveted things, so no that question doesn’t pertain to me.” Hmmm. The leader turned it around with, maybe not a thing – was there something from your parent you coveted? Their time, attention, affection? That question I am still pondering and will address at a later date.
So back to the question: I have never wanted things, treasures. Is that a sickness, affliction? I am comforted by the wisdom of Dr. Stutz from the Netflix documentary “Stutz”,
Stutz says there’s a potency in non-attachment — in other words, you should fearlessly pursue the things you want, but you should also teach yourself to be totally unafraid to let them go. Stutz says to imagine yourself hanging from a branch. What happens when you let go?
While I can honestly say I am NOT attached to things, and I am totally unafraid to let them go, upon further contemplation from the men’s group, there is something from my father that I DO want. He wanted me to have his restored rolltop desk – the desk where we tirelessly worked on his pre-Windows PC. Thinking of these times puts a smile on my face, in reliving how many times I told him to enter “cd dot dot back slash dot dot.” (For you MSDOS folks out there!) It was like I was talking code, code that he would never fully comprehend but he/we kept at it. The restored rolltop desk that I scarred with a soldering iron in fixing said PC - a scar that we shared and that he conveniently covered with a coaster.
I want to reframe the phrase, "One man's trash is another man's treasure,” to a song, to a thought, a perspective. As you may know, I tend to zero in on a song and have it playing continually on loop (repeat). My current target is “Softly and Tenderly” by Joey and Rory. You likely know it - “softly and tenderly Jesus is calling… “ My wife has commented a few times that it is depressing, makes her think of a funeral. For me, I find it captures my definition of JOY. Not happiness that is momentary, fleeting. Joy – summarized by C.S. Lewis,
“All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still “about to be.” -C.S. Lewis
At this time and place in my life – with my unique challenges and stresses, my unique personality and perspective, I will latch onto this song, this treasure and the JOY it brings me, AND, in the spirit of “happy wife, happy life,” listen to it with the door closed OR with headphones.
My questions for you: What are your treasures? Per Stutz, what happens when you let go?