Possessions Owning Possessor

 

Do you own your things or do your things own you? I find myself pondering this as my husband reports that his bicycle was stolen from under our front porch today in broad daylight. There is a common mentality (and one that I previously had had) that surrounds acquiring material possessions and I have begun to realize that the more you own the more it owns you. You see the problem is this; when a person works hard to earn a substantial amount of money that is then spent on a costly item the item is deemed "valuable." With the title of a valuable possession you are now left to be it's care taker. It is your responsibility to tend to it and make sure that it remains in your possession (not stolen). With all of these added tasks of caring for your new purchase comes the undeniable stress that comes along with it. Today I was reminded, when a bicycle is purchased at a thrift store for $10 it carries worth... but not the type of worth that has you padlocking it up. Although you enjoy this bike, why would you stress about it being stolen or breaking? And let's be honest, no physical possession is really ours anyway. One day we will no longer have the breath to worry about the status of all our possessions. One thing that we will not have at the end of our lives are those wasted moments that we concerned ourselves with such petty and insignificant worries. When you have nothing (or little to nothing), you have nothing (or little to nothing)to loose. When you begin to put value in Sunday morning tickling matches with those little ones, that embrace that warms your entire being, or those moments that the stars are so bright that they take on a living presence... you are left to realize that there really is no value in any inanimate object. Quite liberating...

Prada =EQUALS= Nada

     In our culture from a very young age we are taught that the more we obtain and the richer we are the better off we are in this life. Nearly eight months ago, I began to venture down a path that I would have never envisioned myself going down. The road of anti-consumerism. The more I learn of the lack of sustainability in our culture's chosen path the more I despise this constant need for bigger and better things. The consumer has fed into, therefore supported, an endless cycle of consumption. In the attempt to understand where this desire comes from I think back to my younger days.... the moment of thrill that I would have walking out of the store with a new item swinging from hand in a shiny plastic bag. Often times, that new item would be a different version of something I already had cluttering my home. My point is, that it is that fleeting moment of joy that has somehow enamored us.

We know deep down inside that the lack of or abundance of material possessions and money does not create happiness, respect, love, security, or anything that all those commercials insinuate that we will gain if we purchase their product. We are smarter than that!

 

I quickly began to correlate that the less I picked up that remote, crossed the threshold into those automatic doors, and perused the magazines at the grocery store queue...... the less I felt I actually needed. The other day I found myself in a store which I had formerly loved, and I felt ill as I looked around and saw all of these young girls pouring their time, energy, and resources into something so completely pointless. Then I stopped and thought to myself,

"AH! April, you have truly jumped off the hippy deep end!"

But have I?

 

Countless studies have shown that money and material possessions does not make one happy or fulfilled. Studies have actually gone to prove just the opposite, that in fact people that see an increase in their money and possessions report a decrease in their general feelings of happiness and fulfillment. Opening my mailbox this morning I was captured by these bolded red words on an envelope with a return address from Vogue magazine that read:

April, We miss you!

 

 

Dear Vogue-

I bet you do! This is my response to you, I have no intention of renewing my magazine subscription... even if you give me six free issues. I will no longer waste my precious time on this earth filling my brain with the idea that I am less of a person because I don't have a runway worthy handbag or the iPhone87.

Material possessions do not make me.

Yes, I may be blonde... however I am far from dumb. I see how young girls struggle with self image on a daily basis as they look back at themselves in the mirror.... and the message that you send them is one that if they submit then they too will be pretty and acceptable. I call bullshit!

Sincerely,

April Netschke

 

P.S. And by the way, keep your lies away from my young influential daughter! My daughter will know that she is amazing because she has vision, drive, humor, empathy, class, humility, strength, perseverance... not because of what is on her back, what she drives, or what is in her wallet.





 

Present in the Moment

At the base of Exit Glacier, where the gray run off waters run over the smooth black pebbles, I sit beside the stream watching the sun dip behind the snowcapped peaks. Naturally I equate this moment as the ideal moment to find my inner peace so I meditate. Like so many of my meditation practices, in my attempt to be fully present in the moment during meditation I find my mind wandering to insignificant moments in the days prior and plans for the days to come. I glance to the flowing water beside me and realize that in this present moment in time the water that is called stream, was once called glacier, and eventually will be given the title of ocean. However, in that instant, in that present moment, what it was and what it will be are insignificant to what it is now. The water is ever flowing, ever changing, and the beauty was in the significance of noticing the present, acknowledging it, and being mindfully immersed.

180° South or North in Her Case

     There is this clip during my sister's and my favorite documentary, 180 Degrees South, where it is said, "Well what happens when you get to the edge of the cliff. Do you take one step forward or do 180° turn and take one step forward? Which way you goin? Which is progress?' The solution to many of the world's problems maybe to turn around and to take a forward step. You can't just keep trying to make a flawed system work." - Douglas Tompkins

     I am lounged with my socked toes perched on the dashboard of our rental car that is precariously parked atop a cliff watching the waves and glancing every few moments at our bright yellow tent to see if my sister has awoken. This morning, after a restful nights sleep on the sandy shore of the beach, I felt inspired to write.I can't help but draw connections between my sister's journey and the 180 Degrees South documentary. So, I have come here to witness my sister's transition and take part on an adventure as she journeys from Seward, Alaska to a remote island off the coast of Kodiak called Raspberry Island. It is there, on that remote island, that she will be working as a hiking and sea kayaking guide. I know.... right?!

     Taking a few steps back, 4 months back, I can't help but examine her decision and what led her to this place in this very moment in time. She was working a job that she had pursued with all that she had. Recently she had even been promoted from a police officer to a detective, which was the precise reason why she had gotten into law enforcement. She was great at her job and helped so many of the people that she served until one day she decided that she was simply no longer happy. She was tired of combatting and witnessing so much evil, it was as she simply stated "time to see some beauty."

    She dug her heals into the hard ground, shifted that body weight, and swung 180°. She applied and was hired for a seasonal minimum wage position in Alaska (where I am convinced that every nature photograph and film is shot given it's unfathomable diverse beauty). She donated every material procession that had her name on it, sold her car, put in her notice at work, and packed what she could into a backpack.

     This is where I need to insert my opinion. It is this: there may be no other act that is as inspiring as reaching "success" in our modern culture, deciding it's not your definition of success, and changing your life. Life is too short to live in such a way that you are aware that there is something greater and yet you don't fully pursue it. She has been a living example to me to fully be true to myself, even in the face of fear and excuses.

    So this morning I watch the waves lap on to the shore, breaking into a white splash over the jagged rocks yet smoothing the sandy shore before retreating. I take notice that from inside the car where I sit a bumble bee struggles to find an exit as he paces back and fourth on the transparent window. After pacing back and fourth for over twenty minutes, wings flapping angrily. He ascends off the window, turns 180°, and fly's out the open car window beside me. 

Lunch on a Hood

      Just another boring night shift at work. Doing rounds I glimpse out the window and notice that the sun is beginning to rise and is painting the sky a  whole rainbow of hues. So tonight I thought instead of taking my lunch at the desk, I'd rather spend it propped against the hood of my car watching the sky morph in front of me. So outside I went.

      I couldn't help but think that routine often snuffs out the ability to notice beauty.... or perhaps we don't recognize beauty in the things we see so often... because we simply see it too often.

      My questions venture further... Is it the rarity that makes it so beautiful. I then ask myself are adventurers the ones with the most beautiful lives because of the notion that they themselves are unaware of what shore lies beyond the jagged outcropping that their sailboat navigates around? Is it the lack of foresight that makes life so beautiful. Propped up against the hood of my car my eyes glanced heavenward to daydream about the destination of planes as they cross the sky, but instead, something downward caught my eye. Something that was moving. I looked down, and in my stillness, a baby cottontail rabbit was crossing the parking lot. I couldn't help but notice what a beautiful creature this little rabbit is. The sunlight peaking over the horizon and through the trees was illuminating the frailty of his little fuzzy ears. Noticing that his stubby tail truly does resemble a piece of cotton.  I couldn't help but feel that I need to live a life that is less routine and with wandering eyes. Just because I am a driven person with ambition, does not mean that I shouldn't allow the perfect northern wind to guide me south. It's in the spontaneity of that wind that one may find beauty. A rich and fulfilled life is an accumulation of those small noticed beauties.

Star Gazing

Hair sprawled like a fan

Fingers grip the dew kissed grass

The sky like a theater curtain falls

Spins slowly

Stars beam

Leaving streaking remanence of where they were

 

 

Deep with in her soul

a question

Though this earthy grass is all she's known

It's strong

Stable

It has given resistance her whole life for

Freedom

to run

dance

sail

explore

 

 

Yet

The stars gleam bright within her soul

she longs to caress the energy they hold

To feel her hair lift off that dewy grass

and

whip around

behind her

to feel it catch on her lips

as she soars

to new heights

 

 

To feel

the power and light

that those stars must contain

has captured her thoughts as she lay

gazing in that field

amongst that dew laden grass

 

 

 

 

Beauty in Everything

 

 

                Today I went shopping and purchased nearly the whole produce section at my favorite grocery store, Lucky’s Market. My favorite part of buying different types of produce is slowly unpacking it from the reusable bags and putting it on display on my kitchen counter. I enjoy peeling each individual sticker off every apple, banana, mango, avocado, and onion and organizing them on the platter as if I were assembling a bouquet of flowers. Once I am through, I step back to admire the colors, textures, and contrast of the cornucopia. Today I had a fleeting thought that I may enjoy the aesthetic value of a bountiful produce run more than an actual bouquet of flowers. Not only is it just as visually appealing, but you can also enjoy the delights of the bouquet through your taste buds.  My point: you can find beauty in anything if you choose to. As a person who prides herself in optimism, I have discovered that noticing the beauty in every day simple moments is the key to happiness. It’s a shift in thinking. When you approach a situation, whatever it may be, ask yourself, “what is beautiful about this?”  The more you learn to identify everyday beautiful moments, the more it becomes like second nature. Beauty was not exclusively intended for date nights, vacations, and birthdays. Beauty is everywhere every day. It’s in the way the sunlight bounces off your baby boy’s blonde hair or the way the sparrows dart to and from the branches of the tree outside your window. Beauty is found when the evening sunlight turns the brown grass golden or the glimpse of the woman your daughter will be is revealed in her playful smirk. It’s in the sweet smell of a fresh baked banana muffin or the way his eyelids soften when he is fast asleep. It is constantly there, we just have to open our eyes to really see.

More beautiful than a bouquet of flowers!