Sunday, March 15, 2009

Too Many Pens

I was sitting at my desk this morning pondering my next post, I found myself staring blankly towards my numerous well organized and overly full pen holders (there are three of them, with probably 50 or more pens in total).  Wondering what I was going to write, and feeling slightly frustrated with my lack of creativity, I picked up my favorite pen and started playing with it.  Now you maybe thinking what is Talia's favorite pen? Well, I'll tell you, it's a black ball point gen pen...ordinary, standard, and reliable.  I have always loved pens and frequently buy new ones, whether or not I need them, thus why I have 50+ pens on my desk and only use one or two.

In the moments of thinking about what to write and coming to terms with the fact that I have way too many pens that I don't use, I realized that my pen obsession, while fairly innocent, is not really serving me in a positive way. Instead of being useful, my pen collection has become excessive, and slightly humorous. What I like about my pens is that I have tons of options, regardless to if I choose to use them or not. However, I have found that often times in my life when I am in situations with too many options, I often times freak out and choose what is comfortable and safe, thus my favorite black pen. Now don't get me wrong, I love trying new things, I just want less stress in the decision making process.  Today, I am going to stream line my pen collection and pick a handful of pens to live on my desk that each serve a purpose, and get rid of the rest.   I have a feeling that if I looked at other areas in my life I would discover this same pattern, in fact I know it. Now let's be honest, I am not getting rid of my shoe collection, it's not going to happen...at least not today, but I will clear some space on my desk and for today, that feels pretty good.

Think about these questions:
Where in your life are you holding on to excessive stuff?
Where in your life are too many options inhibiting you from making a clear and intentional choices?
Let me know what you think...I bet we will all be surprised our commonalities. 
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1 comment:

  1. Kelly and MichielMarch 29, 2009 at 8:57 PM

    As for excessive stuff, all it takes is a move and the packing process to convince you of that one. I was in this last place for almost two years, a good while for me, and have managed to accumulate so much stuff. And even knowing that I was moving it into a very small space still did not let me part with the majority of it. Files and books are my weaknesses I've learned, althogh I have a pretty good pen collection too. Frugality plays a role too, when you don't want to throw something out that you might need later. And that's only the material excesses -- I won't start into potential emotional baggage. :)

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