Zennification – MORIAH JOVAN

Paring down is my life’s ongoing quest.

Why? I have ADD¹ and Stuff kills me. Kills my ability to focus on anything. If I get in a work groove, I still have that little niggle at the back of my mind about children’s clothes that are outgrown that need to be gathered up and put out on the curb for Disabled Veterns to come pick up. As I get older, mid century modern gets a helluva lot more attractive.

I hate knickknacks, though I have a few. They are precious to me: a lump of iron coke, a chrome-plated Safelok rail clip, a mug I think is hilarious, a set of Spanish oil/vinegar bottles I filled with lamp oil and then stuck a wick through a marble stopper—voilà! Knickknacks as survival and/or romance. The rest of my “knickknacks” are books and art or things to hang on my walls, not stuff that sits on a shelf.

I rejoiced when I could pack my music collection into a thingie I could hold in my palm. I rejoiced when I could carry around a library’s worth of books in my purse. Thus, there is one thing I hoard: data. I keep everything, because I can hold it in my hand.

How many people are like me, in their heart of hearts? I don’t know. My quest is derailed by the fact that Other People live with me and those Other People have Stuff. XX is 6-1/2 and I can’t bear to go into her room now. How much worse will it be when she’s 16-1/2?

So in my ongoing quest to Zennify, the two things that give me hope are my mp3 player and my ebook reader.

1. Please note: I do not consider my ADD a “disorder.” I like it. It’s useful. It’s part of my personality.

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