I often wonder about the energy that our belongings. Call it potential, kinetic or even spiritual energy. I’m a factual, sciencey person, but there is definitely a part of me that senses something intangible or unknown in the universe. Maybe I’m becoming more open to the metaphysical aspect of life as I get older, but I find I’m increasingly thinking about the energy of our world, of our atmosphere, our elements, nature, and our belongings.
Whether you lean towards the spiritual side and see it as spirits or cosmic energy or whether you look at it from a physics perspective, I think all would agree that there is definitely energy in all things. Whether it be the forces of physics or otherwise, there is energy in our stuff – quite literally.
Taking that a step further, we can also feel a certain type of energy in our belongings. Sometimes strongly (when opening grandma’s handbag and you can almost feel her with you), and sometimes only if we think about it (when you reach for a knife and find your favourite one there, clean and waiting for you). If we think about that energy and how it might apply to how we manage our belongings, I think it brings up a few considerations.
What does energy want? Please read this with full awareness that physics is not my thing, but I get the sense that energy does not like to be contained. It does not like to be still. At a subatomic level, everything is moving, humming, sometimes leisurely, but sometimes intensely, like a coiled spring.
When we think about our belongings as having energy, or souls, if that’s your leaning (I’m in between!), it can change the way we look at everything.
What does the energy or spirit in our belongings need? What is it craving? Does it want to be appreciated, in motion? Does it want use and gratitude? I kind of think it does. I feel like leaving something humming away in the back of a cupboard does something negative, like it is holding something back, like shackling a horse that just wants to run free. Also, if you consider our belongings as embodying spirits or holding energy, what happens when there is too much? Does their collective energy overpower you? Are you able to keep all of those spirits, all of that energy, happy?
I’m also interested in how we influence the energy – do we add to it? Does part of our energy transfer into a belonging, almost through osmosis? And if it does, what does that mean?
Looking at the example of grandma’s purse above, perhaps part of the energy of that purse came from her. But then I wonder about that energy when the purse is being experienced by someone who did not know her. Is the energy still there? Or does it relate only to my energy? So then, when something leaves our possession, is the energy stored within transferred onto the next person? And does the act of moving an object on allow for some of that energy to flow back into us, so that the item has more capacity for new energy – the energy of the next person using it, or the energy of the elements?
Another thought is about what the energy of a belonging does to you. Is it a positive energy? Or a negative energy? Does it draw from you or flow into you? Does it make you feel whole or make you feel hollow?
Look around at your things. Sense their energy, the needs of that energy, the emotions of that energy, and think about how you can use that sense to maintain a balance in your possessions. In order to maintain a balance in yourself.