Way leads onto Way.

For the past week I have been sorting out my folders. Teachers have a lot of folders- one, at least, for each unit of work they teach and they are always on the lookout for new resources and current topical pieces which support units- they gather a lot of stuff. So I have been sorting, reducing, recycling; I have “Maria Kondoed” it , thanked it for its usefulness and let it go!

Before I retired, I thought, you know what? I am just going to get in there and dump the lot! Some things were really easy to let go – some units I looked at and thought, Thank goodness I won’t have to teach that again! A quick and easy decision. But then others were simply too valuable to let go – I am not ready yet to dump Shakespeare, my poetry, how to structure an essay, write a short story or how to write and speak to persuade. I expect to have opportunity to use these in the future. Still, much has been achieved, folders have been hugely reduced, neatly refilled and labelled for easy retrieval.

All this brings me to my point about things and stuff. The world is highly overthinged and huge importance is placed on things- a whole ideology of Capitalism and consumerism supported by media a advertising brainwashes into believing that things make us happy and even more disturbing, the concept that we are only as important and valuable as the things we have. So here we go; here are my-

Ten top tips to test things:

• Are your things acquired honestly?

• Are your things acquired ethically?

• Are you in crippling debt because of your things? Time to cut the cloth to fit.
• Are you maintaining your things? If not; do not get another thing until you know how to look after what you already have.

• Are you using your things?

• Are your things a blessing or a curse?

• Do you bless others with your things?

• Are your things making you sick? Too much clutter, dust, stuff, disorder will make you physically and emotionally ill.

• If you lost your things, would you still have yourself? Or do you see your value in your things?

• Do you believe that people and relationships are more valuable than things?

Red Alert : Things, just more and more things, will not make you happy.