YK’s 365 Release: Day 321

My repugnance toward overhead lighting and preference for floor lamps (see Days 13 and 49) continues with today’s release.

As many of us know, Ikea can be a magical place where everything is only $1.99. Then you start accumulating a cart load of $1.99s and before you know it you’re at $199. On one such occurrence, I picked up a rice paper lampshade. As with my previous releases of lighting objects, I purchased it because you can never have too many lamps. In addition to this logic, I also have a proclivity to pick up lampshades that are based on Asian cultural traditions. It reminds me of my childhood.

I have held onto this lampshade because it still has its potential purpose as a lampshade, but also because it takes up so little space. It’s only a few mm thick and can fit between two sheets of paper when collapsed. However, physical volume is not, as I have found, a reason to hold onto something. This 365 Release practice is about practicing non-attachment of objects to clear my mind, to understand how every moment the universe changes, and to also constantly remind myself that I don’t need “things” or need to be attached to “things”. It’s not a project to empty up my apartment or to lighten my clutter. That is a byproduct. And as a very tidy minimalist person, I am surprised still at how much I can let go.

So on Day 321 of my 365 Release practice, I am giving away this lampshade to the restaurant owner in the neighborhood who uses the same ones in his restaurant. He’s always replacing them every season with fresh new ones.