I don’t know how you are, but I need a place to put my stuff…  That’s the whole meaning of life… trying to find a place to put your stuff.  That’s all your house is.  Your house is just a place to keep your stuff.  If you didn’t have so much stuff, you wouldn’t need a house.  You could just walk around all the time.

A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it.  You can see that when you’re taking off in an airplane.  You look down, you see everybody’s got a little pile of stuff… their own pile of stuff.  And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up.  Wouldn’t want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff.  They always take the good stuff.  Ain’t nobody interested in the junk you’ve stashed away, like your fourth grade arithmetic papers.  That’s what your house is, a place to keep your stuff… while you go out and get more stuff!

Now, sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house.  Why?  Too much stuff!  You’ve gotta move all your stuff.  Maybe put some of your stuff in storage.  Imagine that!  There’s a whole industry based on someone else keeping an eye on your stuff.  Enough about your stuff.  Let’s talk about other people’s stuff.

Did you ever notice when you go to somebody else’s house, you never quite feel 100% at home?  Know why?  No room for your stuff. Somebody else’s stuff is all over the place!  And what awful stuff it is!  Where did they get this stuff?  And if you stay overnight, unexpectedly, they give you a little bedroom to sleep in.  Bedroom they haven’t used in about eleven years.  Someone died in it, eleven years ago.  And they haven’t moved any of his stuff!  Wherever they give you to sleep, right next to the bed there’s usually a dresser of some kind, and there’s NO ROOM for your stuff on it.  Somebody else’s stuff is on the dresser. (Have you noticed that other people’s stuff is junk and your junk is stuff?)

Sometimes you leave your house to go on vacation.  And you gotta take some of your stuff with you.  You can’t take all your stuff.  Just the stuff you really like. The stuff that fits you well that month.  You take a smaller version of your house, version two of your stuff.  Let’s say you're gonna fly all the way to Honolulu.  Gonna go across the continent, across half an ocean to Honolulu.  You gotta take two big suitcases of your stuff, plus your carry-on stuff, plus all the stuff that’s in your pockets.  You get down to the hotel room in Honolulu and you open up your suitcase and you put away all your stuff.  "Here’s a place here, put a little bit of stuff there, put some stuff here, put some stuff—you put your stuff there, I’ll put some stuff here—here’s another place for stuff.  Look at this, we got more places than we got stuff.  We’re gonna hafta buy more stuff!"

You put all your stuff away, and even though you’re thousands of miles from home and don’t feel at ease, you do know you must be OK, because after all, you got some of your stuff with you. And you relax in Honolulu on that basis. That’s when your friend calls up from Maui, and says, "Hey, why don’tchya come over to Maui for the weekend and spend a couple of nights over here?"

Oh, no!  Now what do I pack?  You’ve gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff.  The third version of your house.  Just enough stuff for a weekend on Maui.  You get over to Maui—I mean you’re really getting extended now.  You got stuff ALL OVER THE WORLD!  You got stuff at home, stuff in storage, stuff in Honolulu, stuff in Maui, stuff in your pockets.  I mean, supply lines are getting longer and harder to maintain.  You get over to your friend’s house on Maui, and he gives you a little place to sleep, a little bed right next to a windowsill or a small shelf.  Not much room on it, but that’s OK because you don’t have much stuff now.  You put your stuff up there.  You got your Visine, you got your imported French toenail clippers, you got your cinnamon-flavored dental floss, and you put everything up.  It takes about an hour and a half, but after a while you finally feel okay, say, "All right, I got my toenail clippers, I must be okay."  And you relax in Maui on that basis.  That’s when your friend says, "Aaaaay, I think tonight we’ll go over to the other side of the island, visit a pal of mine and maybe stay over."

 

Aww, no!!!  NOW what do you bring?  You gotta put together an even SMALLER version of your stuff.  The fourth version of your house.  Only the stuff you know you’re gonna need.  Money, keys, comb, wallet, lighter, hanky, pen, candy, tooth brush, sunglasses, and a book. STUFF! ²

There isn’t much that I can do,
But I can share my bread with you,
And I can share my joy with you,
And sometimes share a sorrow, too,
As on our way we go.

There isn’t much that I can do,
But I can sit an hour with you,
And I can share a story with you,
And sometimes share reverses, too,
As on our way we go.

There isn’t much that I can do,
But I can share my flowers with you,
And I can share my books with you,
And sometimes share your burdens, too,
As on our way we go.

There isn’t much that I can do,
But I can share my songs with you,
And I can share my mirth with you,
And sometimes come and laugh with you,
As on our way we go.

There isn’t much that I can do,
But I can share my hopes with you,
And I can share my fears with you,
And sometimes shed some tears with you,
As on our way we go.

There isn’t much that I can do,
But I can share my friends with you,
And I can share my life with you,
And ofttimes share a prayer with you,
As on our way we go. ⁴