And one day you realise you’re a cartoon squirrel
And all the beautiful and sophisticated things you have are just you hoarding acorns- no matter how many romantic Dostoevskian justifications you may have. And you mostly socialise with other acorn hoarders, and complement each other on both acorns, and hoarding. And of course on carefully selecting the best (and safest) territory in which to keep acorns.
My Mazamet 
Here we have a saying “Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn from time to time.” Studies have shown that squirrels often forget where they have stashed their bounty and have become a major source of reforestation thereby.
As someone who is downscaling dramatically, I am finding it easier and easier to get rid of “stuff” and I am rapidly becoming like Erasmus “When I get a little money, I buy books. If there is any left over, I but food and drink.” The stuff we accumulate often becomes our own little Sargasso Sea, miring us in place, keeping us from moving outward, physically and mentally.
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A while back I came up with a system of trading in, let’s say, 4 medium quality candlesticks for two better quality ones. That stops me dying in a hoarder avalanche.
My rationalisation is that one day these things can go to museums and thus I create both the delusion of meaning and affirm the construct of self-worth 😀
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In my family we sold off excess stuff. (My parents, after all, lived through the Great Depression.) I, on the other hand, like to give stuff away either directly or through “thrift stores” which then sell the stuff on and use the profits for charitable purposes. I could do some swapping, I guess, if I only had some things that had any value. (I am a sentimentalist and all of my stuff has little more than sentimental value.)
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We bait squirrels with stale bread. They’re so tame now they come right to the back door to get it. We call it cat tv.
You’re my cat tv. 🐿
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So you think it was you who tamed them and not the other way around? Who’s getting the free bread? 😀
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I’ve just read Mrs Dalloway, and your post reminded me of it a great deal. Sounds like with the mood you’re in, you might enjoy it, if you’ve not done so already; it’s subtle, cutting and brilliant.
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What an excellent idea. Now I just have to find it.
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I began it again as soon as I finished it, so incredible is the writing. Only 200 pages, fewer actually, but each a masterpiece, each a poem. It’s very poetic, I thought, and all interiorised, which seems to reflect how you currently are, in part 🙂
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Lost somewhere between a drunken haze and insanity? Not quite knowing where one begins and the other ends? Memory jumping dangerously in time until one doesn’t really know where one is? 😀
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“Lost somewhere between a drunken haze and insanity? Not quite knowing where one begins and the other ends? Memory jumping dangerously in time until one doesn’t really know where one is?” – You called?
– Esme not nuts but possibly crackers upon the Cloud
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LOL 😀
When Mike’s nephew was little and he’d cry, and *someone* would imitate him crying- he’d scream “give me back my crying!”
Are you trying to steal my Crazy? Give me back my Crazy! MY crazy 😛
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I have it on good informatiom that this was you yesterday morning
So, yes, you own that crazy dearie.
– Esme the Cloudster falling about and feeling very sorry for any child who dared to get a spot of attention close to Mr Pink when he was a liitle boy.
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That is PERFECTION 😀
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*Esme bows*
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You could be Mrs Dalloway, Mr Pink; you sound frightfully, frightfully similar. How queer!
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We descend from the same Hoarder Squirrels.
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Nobel (Peace Prize) for the title.
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😀
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Thank you!!!!! 8:34am and I’m laughing my head off. Scrat was always my favourite from Ice Age but I’d forgotten all about him, until now.
I do have to disagree with you about the acorns though. The ‘things’ I treasure aren’t just beautiful. Each one is a little time capsule that reminds me of a moment in my life. 3D history, not acorns. 🙂
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I use that story too, but I have the impression we’re attempting to justify our acorns 😀
My usual story is my acorns are important because they’ll serve a social purpose.
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lol – My ‘stuff’ isn’t valuable enough to have a social purpose, but I like to think that I’ve helped save an antique or two from the woodpile [Mum bought them back in the 60’s when everyone wanted vinyl]. I’d also like to think that the Offspring will keep the better pieces but…probably not. So ultimately they’re just for me and I’m okay with that. 🙂
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You’re still a squirrel. A strange squirrel but a squirrel nonetheless. Which is better than being an ant slave. That’s the worse.
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LMAO! Oh I could never be an ant slave…all that formic acid would be bad for my digestion. Walnuts, however…:D
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Oh- and interesting Hungarian story, search for *My aunt had a dinner party, and then she took her guests to kill 180 Jews* then click to read cached copy, that gets you past the Haaretz paywall…
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Holy crap….?? Just had a quick read. To be honest the name doesn’t ring any bells for me but I wasn’t even four when we left. The only thing that does strike a chord is the need to know. My Dad served in the Hungarian army so whenever ANZAC day rolled around, I’d feel disconnected and odd – coz he was one of the ‘enemy’. Luckily, he was too busy dodging bullets to get mixed up in the awfulness of the Nazis. I never had to revise my opinion of him the way Batthyany did. That must have been devastating. 😦
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Squirrels eat acorns.
I prize the stuff in my head. How could I declutter that?
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Pigs also eat acorns :D, Squirrels keep and hide them for later
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