#2 - Jinn’s Newsletter Beta - Garbage
Metaphor dump
Every fortnight my bins get emptied.
This is great motivation for putting things in the trash.
I'm fortunate the council doesn't make me take my rubbish to the tip.
I still need to create a system for myself, sort compostables, sort hard trash, and recycling.
If I don't throw my compostables, they will smell and attract an unwanted ecosystem to my kitchen bench.
At some point my trash can gets full, and I have to take it out.
Sometimes when it's full, being the perfect human that I am, I just keep trying to stuff it.
Inevitably when it is full, I gingerly place things on top while others in my household treat it like it’s empty, and of course, it bounces out. Opinions are often shared at this point.
There is also a moment of colourful despair when due to stuffing it, I poke a hole in it. But I've learnt not to put liquids in that one! Or just double bag it.
The recyclables, they fluctuate.
Only when there are big events (like selling/moving house) are there a sudden surge of cardboard and paper, and unwanted recyclable goods. I then have to either stagger their removal over each fortnight, or do a hard removal…
Meaning
And just in case I was being too metaphor-y:
Systems/habits are at times necessary.
Some systems exist without you. Some you created to match existing ones.
It feels like an absolute chore sometimes, knowing the consequences helps stick to it.
Pushing the boundaries can have volatile, unexpected outcomes.
Knowing the edge of boundary is near may change the way you face it, holding you back.
Motivation needs to be clear for commitment and sustainable changes.
There’s also a lot of evidence that you are capable! You have your own systems in place for things you might not consciously think about.
And another layer of onion:
Not just talking about physical trash, what about mental load? Emotional load?
It might not start smelling now. A day, a year, 10 years worth of “stuff”, the scent may catch up.
Certain events can catch you in those moments where you simply didn’t set aside the capacity. Project changes, Job changes, Life changes.
The old autopilot might not be there to support the new you, or at least the you that needs to be there to rise to the new situation.
What else do you notice in the metaphor?
Movement
Some curiousity:
What system are you running?
What part of it works like clockwork? (your strengths!)
Where might you be overstuffing, hoping it’ll “hold”?
If you built a system from scratch, what would it look like?
What does it require of YOU to make this system run consistently?
And, if you don’t deal with the trash, who else has to live with it?
