In her famous poem The Summer Day, writer Mary Oliver asked, "What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
This question has resonated with so many who have chosen to seize the opportunity of aging. Instead of looking at their later years as a time of loss, limitation, and slowing down, they’re using this time in their one precious life to pursue their passions, to get the most out of every day by doing the things they love with the people they love.
Our friends at Growing Bolder recently asked their followers to name something they enjoyed most about their current decade of life. Nearly all the responses said what brought them joy were memorable experiences, not the physical things they collected.
When we are younger, we start to collect things. It’s normal during our working years to yearn for material things. We save to buy a bigger house or a more expensive car. We collect trinkets from our time and travels and fill our homes with as much stuff as we can get our hands on.
Statistics show that the average U.S. household has over 300,000 things in it. Twenty-five percent of Americans with a two-car garage can’t fit a single car inside because they have so much stuff taking up space. Even our homes don’t have enough room, which is why self-storage is one of the fastest-growing real estate sectors with nearly 18% of Americans now leasing space for their personal belongings.
As we age, we are given the gift of time. With fewer hours spent working, and more hours spent pursuing our passions, the picture becomes clearer, and we realize that these things we’ve collected can become a burden. It’s why so many turn to our Caring Transitions teams. We provide the full spectrum of senior relocation services, which can help you collect more memories, not more things. Our experts can provide an individualized plan for downsizing assistance and home declutter services, so you can take back your space and free yourself from years of the stuff that fills your space. Additionally, Caring Transitions can organize an estate sale, and use our online auction platform, CTBIDS, to turn your unwanted items into extra funds to help fuel the life of your dreams.
A good mantra for all of us is “less stuff, more joy.” Consider the question from Mary Oliver: what can you do with your precious life to collect experiences that bring you joy?
Join a group or community where others have a shared interest, like a book club, a pickleball team, a walking group, or a painting studio. Take a beginner’s class in something you’ve always wanted to learn, like kayaking, playing guitar, cooking, or computer programming. Plan your dream vacation and travel the world. And above all, while you’re doing whatever brings you joy, do it with the people who bring you joy too.
Joy is what gives life meaning. Make collecting experiences, not things, part of your next chapter.