Obsession

Eliminating excess stuff from our lives has had far-reaching consequences. As you start to get down to the more important possessions – the things that you question getting rid of – you begin to really think more about what you do rather than what you own.

Naomi may not have spent too much time deliberating over selling her guitar but I’ve got to the point now where I’m having to actually list my turntables on ebay. In more confident moments I’ve taken photos of them and thought about shipping options. In times of doubt I’ve gone back to my records and thought about throwing myself back into the world of shopping for vinyl and DJing at friends’ parties.

But here’s the thing: it really is a world. Almost every hobby or leisure pursuit is its own little ecosystem. It has magazines dedicated to it. You can meet other like-mined people on the internet. There’s the right way to do everything and the way that brings you scorn (woe-betide anyone who tries to open the plastic wrapper on a new record without having first frantically rubbed the edge on their jeans). And, of course, with that world comes even more stuff. It spreads from your single pursuit until every room has some element of it.

Maybe it only happens to a certain type of person but I’ve had my fair share of obsessions over the years. From playing music to making it. Mountain biking. Rock climbing. Watches. They all spread. So, much of what I’ve been selling these past few months is the fallout from these little obsessions (some not so little) and there’s been a natural order. We’re down to the brass tacks now. Will I do these things again or has the time past?

For me the time has past as far as superstar DJ status goes. That’s not to say that I feel to old to do it or that I don’t think I’m that good at it. What it does mean is that I don’t have the time or drive to obsess over it anymore and the stuff that goes with it is just going to waste. Someone else could fire their passion with it.

Having a family makes us really focused on time and my family is my biggest obsession. After that comes my work and then after that comes my interests. With so much demanding, and deserving attention, my interests need to be really important to me. I have to decide, where I have a choice, what I’m going to obsess over. Well, I’ve done that now. The decision is made. I can get rid of the reminders of previous flirtations with a clean conscience and get on with throwing myself into the things I really care about. It’s quite liberating. Although I have, recently, been thinking I might like to try my hand at surfing…