Serious questions: Can you think of any life circumstance that does not in some way involve created objects?
If so, what circumstance is it that does not involve stuff? If not, what does that say about the necessity of stuff in our lives? And, if stuff is necessary for pretty much everything that goes on in our lives, what does that say about the way we should think about stuff?
Comments
There’s a vast difference between stuff and STUFF. The Budhist life style makes more sense to me. Only own what you can carry in a bag. That’s pretty simplified but very clear.
I think everything what one does in some form or another will use some type of created things such as clothing at the very least and likely a bit more. Quite honestly going skinny dipping is the only activity that I can think of that is 100% free of involving any created objects, assuming that one air dries instead of using a towel.
Stuff-free life circumstances: Love, Friendship, Faith, Health, Truthfulness, Joy, Curiosity, Songs, Dreams, Responsibility, Conversation, Poetry, Rainbows, Breathing, Hugs, Conception, Trust, Sleep, Death, Peace, Walking.
You CAN use some stuff for these, but none are actually required.
I guess it probably depends on what one means by “involve.” As Sue mentions above, emotions can be pretty Stuff-free, as can bodily activities, relationships, and enjoyment of the natural world.
The sticky part is that the use of created objects can enhance our enjoyment or creation of many of the things Sue mentions. Whether it’s gifts, medicine, paper and pen, a piano, a camera, paint, personal lubricant, oxygen masks, a nice mattress, or a good pair of shoes, it’s hard to argue that Stuff doesn’t help us to appreciate these relatively Stuff-free things.
I am a believer in enjoying the good things we have been given. I do think that too much Stuff keeps us from seeing the true value of the legitimate pleasures in life, but I also think Stuff (in moderation) can enhance our enjoyment of them.
As a follower of Christ, I strive to live Paul’s command in Colossians 3:2: “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” My true life (the deeper, more genuine life) is with Christ in the heavenly places, not here in the world. I find that the closer I come to this ideal, the less I care about Stuff.
So I guess the times when I come closest to Stufflessness are the times when I am most wrapped up in Christ’s person, work, and kingdom. Church, the way it was meant to be, should be pretty Stuffless. The good news of Christ should be pretty Stuffless. And the hearts of Christ-followers should be free from the love of Stuff.
OK, I’m rambling. Going to stop now.
The only situation that comes to mind quickly that doesn’t involve manmade objects is something like berry picking or skinny dipping. Not really something sustainable. I mean, sure you can eat berries for a while, but eventually, you need meat or another source of protien, which will probably involve some sort of tool to obtain…. either to plant it or to harvest it in enough quantity that it will sustain life.
But I don’t think that this is a negative thing. I believe in a creator and that that creator made us to be patterned after him, which would mean that we were made to create things and to find solutions. So, I do think that stuff is necessary… not only because we will be so limited without it to the extent of dying from malnourishment, but also because there is a drive in us to create and to be creative.
Micah and Sarah, I wonder if it would help to think of it along these lines:
Orthodox Christian teaching says that God did not need to create in order to be happy and fulfilled. God is 100% content with himself. Yet, he did create for the joy of it. And the creation turned out to be a good thing.
Sue, perhaps that’s a model for how we approach love and friendship and the many other things you mention. Perhaps my love for my wife does not require any created objects, but maybe it can be made joyful and good by introducing created objects into it. For example, a house is a nice place to live and grow in love – I’m not sure we’d get along too well in the forest.
Now all this gets sticky and complicated. Surely, some created objects can have a negative effect on love or friendship or whatever. We see that all too clearly in our consumer-crazy world. Yet maybe that’s all the more reason to take the involvement of stuff in our lives seriously. Maybe consumerism has corrupted the reason we are creators, turning our focus onto things instead of how we might use things.
Of course, there’s another aspect to all this. It seems to me that we can only theorize about activities that do not involve stuff. None of us can go skinny dipping without stuff: I mean the first thing required to go skinny dipping is to take clothes off. But also, who goes skinny dipping who doesn’t leave a home and drive in a car to a lake? Who has a good connection with a friend without sitting down on a couch to talk or sipping coffee from a mug in a cafe together?
Stuff is in our lives. Sometimes the stuff is especially important for an activity. Sometimes the stuff is very much in the background. It seems, however, that stuff is always there.
Interesting Pose!
……….as others have already alluded to, only really cerebral/conceptualised things such as base level emotions, emotional development, philosophy, interaction don’t require stuff……………other than becoming a full time naked being of course! 
I like to think of stuff in terms of tools…..what does it enable me to do, money is a tool also, it acquires other tools. Also I like to think of just borrowing things for a while and when not required passing it/sharing with others…..this idea of possession is a fallacy when we consider our life’s are quite short.
The concept of creation is an interesting point, complex problem solving whether inventing, mending or acquiring something to complete specific tasks I suspect is definitely hardwired from our evolution and the cerebral chemical rewards in controlling/conquering the issues/problems in our life’s…….all started when we figured out that if we could climb the tree somehow we could get to the juicy fruit on the higher branches.
I tend to now discipline myself to evaluate whether to purchase or lend stuff…..a sort of how many uses am I going to get out of it, what is the ratio of use to cost? So everything is costed on a unit basis and I realistically guess what usage per year and over its lifetime…….it becomes quite fun in how you start assessing real value and which items really are a necessity. Oh, I don’t want the above to sound too clinical…..you have factor the unit of fun reward as well.
Maybe a nice shower in a Hawaiian waterfall. Oh, wait–that requires a bar of Waterfall Clean Irish Spring!