We are all hoarders. In the literal sense of the word.

Each one of us hoards something – for some it is their feelings, for some it is money, and for some it is random stuff. There may be other things too that a section may specialize in hoarding but am not going to dwell on that.

This week, as I spent some time introspecting, this question occurred to me – what does hoarding do to us and what it doesn’t? Is it helpful or is it not?

Well, I am someone who hoards feelings. I like to keep my feelings to myself. Not because I cannot let them out but because I don’t believe in sharing them at random. It may be a bane but that’s how I am built. Emotional and sensitive.

I realize that this hoarding doesn’t help me always. In fact, there was a time in my life, when things were only going downhill, when this hoarding led to major explosions within me and affected many a close people around me. It made me unnaturally aggressive and pushed me to spiral negatively. Until, I chose to just let it all go out of my system.

Since then, I have tried to keep the hoarding to the minimum. Not that it doesn’t happen now. But I try and share things more, with people who matter to me or those who I know will be amenable to hearing me out. It has helped me to not bottle up things within and maintain my balance, also ensuring I keep my sane perspective.

Some folks I know are hoarders of money. It isn’t a bad thing, in fact it is a virtue. They are able to control their impulses and not get influenced to part with their money. They generally think deeply through their head and weigh every decision in terms of the monetary angle.

While this may be prudent, in most such cases, I have also seen them taking decisions which are not conducive to their own personal health. They either go ultra hard on hoarding, thereby becoming stingy with the other things that matter in leading a good, comfortable life. Or they push away other people from them by this behavior. Ultimately, they have money but most times, not the affection of others.

I have never been a hoarder of money but often times when I come across such folks, I do try and understand their perspective about money. Because, irrespective of what I just said earlier, their discipline is commendable. And they have taught me a thing or two about being financially prudent. Thanks to them, I have developed better habits around saving money and keeping track of it.

Then, there are people I have come across who hoard things. They like to preserve and keep things for long. Even if the value or utility of that thing has long expired.

Of all vices, I think this is the most harmless. After all, you are hoarding stuff you have used at some point of time. The only downside being, if it turns into an obsession and prevents one from appreciating and using new things. For, only when we peruse the new is when we learn and grow.

The ones who hoard stuff, do so because it is not natural to them to throw away things. Sometimes it is driven by the sentimental value of that stuff, sometimes by the practical desire of using it for some other purpose, or sometimes just impulsively to avoid wastage. The thing I have learnt from them is to value things, no matter old or new – as long as it is useful to me or someone else.

As you can see from my musings above, I haven’t reached a particular conclusion here. What I did realize though is that sometimes even a term with a negative connotation could provide us insights on how to or not to do things.

Like with most things negative – there is always a positive lesson – both for the person who experienced/did it and for the observers…

Hopefully, I didn’t hoard any other insights and shared what I learnt here!