Have you already noticed that our ability to pay attention, to see something, is related to variations? What we see is easily attracted by what is new – a new restaurant in the neighborhood or the new film with our preferred actor. But our eyes are often blind to what is familiar and taken for granted. Not paying attention can bring us to not see what is already in our life and to push us to constantly research for the excitement of what is new. We keep looking forward to what is not yet in our life.

Think about the attention’s quality we give to our possessions: we tend to clutter and have too much stuff. Consequently, we forget what is already in our life, we don’t notice it anymore. We tend to not see, to care less about what is taken for granted.
Therefore, the feeling that we “need” something new can easily kick in also thanks to the huge quantity of inputs we receive from our environment pushing us into consumption.

If you would like to train your attention and valorize what you already possess, I recommend that before buying a new item, to answer these questions:

Have I already used what I have ?
Why do I need this, which need I would like to satisfy?

These questions could bring you to :

• Read the books you already have or get them from the library before buying a new one.
• Wear regularly the shoes and clothes that are already in your shelves before shopping new one.
• Eat what is in your fridge before you have to throw it away.
• Decide that for every new item arriving in your space, an old one will go out.

Paying attention to what we posses helps us to see what is already present and to appreciate how rich our lives are. When we valorize more our belongings we also nourish the attention for other, not material aspects : relationships, contact with the nature, sport and movement, art and literature, projects…

We will continue this topic in the next article. But if you wish support to change how you deal with your belongings, I will be happy to help you!

Picture of Massimo Martino