The day was suppose to start with a warm coffee and some good conversation, but instead of siting quietly in a coffee shop, the morning turned into a excruciating event, using every muscle known to man to carry a hefty lounge down the street in the rain. I admit with much shame that this is what I made Naomi do this morning. I was walking to coffee when I spotted this amazing, practically new sofa lounge a block from my house. At first I walked past it and continued on, but as I was waiting for Naomi I decided my life would not be complete without this lounge. It wasn’t long into carrying it that I realised Naomi didn’t find the same joy that I did in collecting junk. Now reflecting on the day and also discovering the strong, unusual sent of the lounge, I am ashamed by my overwhelming impulsive desire to collect junk.

This junk collecting isn’t a new thing. My best find was a piano on the side of the street in Amsterdam, shiny and black, a couple of blocks from where my friend lived. How could you let that go by? Some how I convinced my quiet, conservative friend that we should push it down the cobbled street in the rain (for the record we hadn’t been to any coffee shops that day).The smoothest part of the street was the middle, which may have upset a few drivers. It all got harder when th e back wheels fell off the piano, but after collecting stones and second hand books in my travels, I could pretty much lift anything. We did get it to her place, but just like the lounge today, in the end the piano was just another piece of junk off the street, another thing that gets in the way.


Everyday I’m hunting for something that will satisfy me, usually it’s a new CD or a new hobby, but often when I get what I want it’s quickly added to the pile of junk and a new desire comes to the surface and the hunt continues. Maybe happiness isn’t found in collecting things, “Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Jesus. I do however find it incredibly fun moving large objects down streets, especially with friends who would never dream of doing such a thing.