Annual Stocktake

I spent the end of 2010 cleaning out my cupboard. Mainly because an army of ants has recently taken up residence in there and have been steadily ruining my biscuit supply over the past few weeks. But also in pursuit of the freedom of movement that comes with having fewer possessions, to live according to that maxim that ‘man is rich according to the things that he can do without’, as Henry David Thoreau said. (Though he did also say he’d rather live alone in a swamp than in society.)

It’s amazing what you find in the depths of a closet. Skeletons and festering secrets aside, five years worth of uni course readers took up a large chunk of the space in mine. I held onto them because ‘I might need them one day’. Like one day if I wanted to have a bonfire in the backyard or build a fleet of fighter jet-engine paperplanes. I discovered things that I simply forgot I had, like for example a paper recycling kit given to me by Santa Claus well over a decade ago. I never threw it out because I’ve always intended to use it. I’ve just never actually got around to it because setting aside time to ‘make paper’ is never something that seems very pressing. In another corner I discovered a pile of things my rat has collected and stored in the depths of a pile of bags, such as the missing piece from my 3D naughts and crosses game and the strap off my brand new, expensive backpack that she has destroyed. A ‘Learn French’ kit and a hideous paperweight from the War Memorial in Hertford, England were also making themselves comfy in the back of the cupboard with a whole family of other things which I am not sure I ever knew I owned.

Sorting through my junk was, as always, a good way to take stock on the year just gone by. In short, 2010 has been great. In long, it’s been really fucking great. This year I felt like I existed. This year I feel like I accomplished a few things, like learning to cook a decent meal. (I do still have issues with frying eggs. And boiling them. In fact, eggs in general – what’s with them?!) I planted a tiny garden that has grown into a not so tiny garden. I finished uni (although I’ll find myself back their again this way) and I found someone special, someone almost more precious than air itself. Which is perhaps not an accomplishment but a rare piece of luck, an extraordinary find.

Hence, a million metaphorical miles and 366 days later, sitting cross legged before a pile of junk from years-gone-by I feel like a new person who inhabits an entirely different universe. So in 2011 I would like to commit myself to actually using that paper recycling kit but otherwise I hope things stay much the same as they are. Except my sunflower seedlings, may they grow big and smiley.

All the best to you and yours for the new year.