restraint

Why do you collect stamps? Every stamp collector hears this question again and again. As for me, I like gathering things, the thrill of finding and collecting. And the more sober joy of organizing.

Lately I have had to develop a new talent and to find joy in it: restraint. That is, holding back or saying no.

Many collectors are specialized, focusing or narrowing their range. Not me. I am still content with simply gathering large numbers of stamps from every country, every time period.

Just gathering, getting, collecting, those things provide my reward.

Now I have found places where I can cheaply buy very large numbers of used stamps which I don’t have yet. Every dealer has bags of leftovers and duplicates. They want to do some house cleaning. I want some quick acquisitions. I have the spare time to soak the stamps off the envelopes. That keeps my costs down and my interest high.

But once it starts, it seems there is no end. Just one more bag, all these stamps from ABC country. Oh, I will never find that pair from XYZ again! I must buy it now! and so on…

I was sorely tempted the other day by a stack of old albums half-filled with remainders and duplicates from many countries which are – for my collection just now – quite obscure. The selling price was good enough just for the albums, so it was almost like the stamps were free. But the albums were a different size from the others I have.

And more importantly I had to learn to say no. There will always be more leftovers, more duplicates. If too many stamps come too easily, much of the joy of collecting is gone. That’s why the (otherwise dull and dreary) work of soaking the stamps off the envelopes appeals to me.

I was so close….teetering on the brink…but I had to be firm and resolute. Despite the generous reduction in price offered by the dealer, I had to say no. Standing there, seeing the stamps and albums in front of me, I still wanted them badly. But as I walked away, I felt a sense of … not quite happiness, but relief.

Self-control. Restraint. Waiting. These are also valuable parts of the collecting experience.