Where Are You on the Continuum?

In this blog I want to examine "extremism." I have written about everything being somewhere on a continuum, yet we are encouraged to believe that, regarding personal behavior, the middle of the continuum is the only place that it is acceptable to be.

Perhaps it's human contrariness that seems to cause people, at least in this country, to go to extremes--"to go off the deep end." Now, as a metaphor, "to go off the deep end" clearly has its roots in swimming, in pools in particular. This dates it to, probably, after WWII, when the phenomenon of having swimming pools began. (I sometimes think that human "contrariness" is our only Saving Grace.)

I love metaphors. They are close to symbols in that they compress/contain so much meaning. To dive off the deep end of a swimming pool when you may not have the ability to get yourself out, is risky behavior. It is also totally immersing oneself in something.

Most of us probably know either one or more persons whom we would label as "hoarders." Applying a label to this, as we humans love to do, puts such individuals in a box where we no longer have to think about it. This box contains, however, a whole spectrum from collectors to out-of-control hoarders.

As mentioned previously, there is a whole new "profession" made up of individuals who offer their services to help people organize, contain, divest themselves of, "stuff." The "average" person/family in this country has more of any number of things than they can possibly use. One result of this is that the storage-unit industry is one of the few actively growing industries in this country.

What started me thinking about this again was an article in the local newspaper headed, "Body Found Under Junk Pile in Home." The story revealed that a man had reported his wife missing some four months previous. Her body was found under, "a floor-to-ceiling pile of junk." The home had been searched, as much as possible, by police with search dogs several times, and they had not found her.

This is not an isolated incidence. Such stories pop up fairly regularly, along with those about animal hoarders. A recent story regarding animal hoarders stated that this, frequently, is the end result of people who rescue animals. Currently, the article indicated, approximately 25-percent of animal rescue organizations are actually cases of hoarding.

The ends of these stories are not pretty.

We like to think that these cases are a form of dementia; there is a push to have it listed in the bible of psychology as a numbered "disorder," they are, however, the extreme. Again, by labeling it a "disorder," we shove it in a box, so we don't have to think about it as, maybe, applying to us.

Psychology Today recently had an article on "shopaholics." This is another continuum--from asceticism, self denial and the rejection of ownership of things, through compulsions to buy/collect/spend money on things. Many years ago, it was called "Keeping up with the neighbors."

As the animal-rescue-person-turned-animal-hoarder is unable to release the animals after they are rescued, the hoarder of things never seem to get enough if anything

There is a whole sub-category of people who collect usable things, "just in case they may need them someday." (My Mother was one of these.) Also collectors of creative materials; as a crafts person, I can identify with this group. Another subgroup are those who buy cases of things, "to have on hand"; one might call this group the "Sam's Club hoarders.") Mechanical/inventive people are great collectors of things that have "possibilities."

While collecting things we are interested in, or like, or might actually use one day is generally not a problem, except when we move, having excesses/multiples of things that we have no real connection to can become a major problem.

It is interesting to me the number of people who are currently divesting themselves of things; it's a good sign of changing attitudes. One indication of this is garage sales, as well as being substantiated by the fact that "thrift" stores are being overwhelmed by the amount of donations they get regularly. The rise of a profession devoted to helping individuals deal with their "stuff" is also a good sign that people are beginning to examine this extreme we have gotten to.

In my view, acquisitiveness and the collecting of meaningless stuff is a way of filling up a void we may be experiencing in our lives. Along with divesting ourselves of what is not important, it is a good idea to find out what does have personal meaning. While, for the animal hoarder it appears to be the love of animals; in actuality it may, perhaps, be substituting for love and caring for oneself.

If there isn't anything in one's life that does have meaning/importance to oneself, then one needs to actively look for something that can fill the void. Many have filled the void by substituting Beliefs, unfortunately.

In examining one's life, this is a good place to begin.

Shirley Gallup