It's Just a House

We watched the movie UP last Saturday at the Overflow at the Sydney Olympic Park. (More on the Overflow in another post.) If you've seen the movie, then you'd know that a big part of the movie showed Mr. Fredricksen's attachment to the house, both physically and emotionally. The house was filled with items which were special to him because they were part of his life with his deceased wife. The house and many of the items inside the house had special meaning to him.

Towards the end of the movie, after the big fight scene, the house fell off the Spirit of Adventure (the blimp of his childhood hero Charles Muntz) and floated away.

The young boy Russel, who knew how attached the old man was to the house, said, "I'm sorry about your house, Mr. Fredricksen."

To this the old man replied, "It's just a house."

He had finally LET GO.

D E T A C H M E N T.

Easier said than done.

That line expressing his detachment rang loud inside me. Earlier that morning we had responded to one of the FreeCycle offers which read, "I'm clearing the family home ready for sale after moving my elderly mother into aged care. On offer is the long list of household items below." And truly there were a lot of items in the list and many more at the actual site. We rummaged through the items hoping to get things which would be useful for the house. We were able to get a lot of good stuff.

There were really a lot of things in the house -- everyday things in fairly good condition -- furniture, appliances, books, notebooks, plates, kitchen items, etc. Surely these were things which the owner must have treasured and saved up for, collected and used over the years. I am sure there were a lot of memories attached to these things. I couldn't help feel sad for the old lady whose things were being given away.

The things which SHE treasured had now been downgraded to 'a long list of items' and were really 'just things' as far as her children were concerned.

Things which could be given away.

Things which maybe could be thrown away.

Things.

Just things.

Although it it true that all these material possessions are just things; and that in the end, we can't take these things with us and that none of these things will really matter. On one side, I see that one man's junk is another man's treasure. I am thankful that the children had opted to offer these items up at FreeCycle because many people, including me and my family, would benefit from her things.

On the other, I see detachment on the side of the old lady. I don't know if it was detachment by choice or detachment by circumstance. All I know is that all these beautiful items which were once hers are now being divided in lots among the many FreeCyclers in need of things. She was no longer attached to these things.

Perhaps now she is free.