Bon Journal

Out of sight, out of mind

Basements and attics exist for a good reason. As rooms that aren't regularly used, they offer storage space for things that aren't needed at the moment. And when the things are put out of sight, they soon disappear out of mind.

The drawback of having storage space is that you have to deal with your stuff at some point in your life. It's just a form of procrastination.

I've always admired my last boss' ability to keep his desk free of clutter. He was disciplined in dealing with matters now - delegate it, keep it, or throw it away. His desk was tidy, his office was orderly, and he seemed on top of things.

My desk, on the other hand, is usually messy --- a sign that I'm overworked and underpaid. A messy desk has an invisible sign "don't bother me, can't you see that I'm too busy?" A messy desk also hides a lot of things. And once out of sight, many things get lost or forgotten.

After spending many months "decluttering", I have finally reached a state of minimalist living reminiscent of my jetsetting, hotel-living days. There is space to move about. There is nothing superfluous in these quarters. A family could easily move in and make this their home from day one.

In the attic, however, lies my clutter --- out of sight and out of mind.

21 February 2004 Saturday

From Taiwan:

If one wants to avoid seeing dirtiness, he should turn his eyes away.--a passive way to stay out of trouble. (Yan Bu Jian Wei Jing, eyes, no, see, is, clean)

Also: One who avoids seeing trouble does not have to worry about trouble. (Yan Bu Jian, Xin Bu Fan eyes, no, see, heart, no, feel vexed)

I cannot but think of the days when I had to sell almost everything to a secondhand shop on the eve of my departure for Brunei in Oct 1963, for 5,500 NT, incl a bicycle, a dressing table, a queen-size bed, table and chairs, a shelf of books, kitchen utensils, wardrobe, etc--all used for only 1 yr.

I was lucky then. Today, you can't find any secondhand shop here. Pawnshops today accept only Rolex, cars, diamonds, while in my college days, I had some experience of pawning my watch for the expenses of a few meals. In those days, pawnshops accepted even old leather shoes, old bicycles, cheap jewelry, used suits.