Being Purposeful

The house continues to empty out into the garage. Belongings put into boxes...most going to storage for the next 4 or 5 weeks.

I wonder.....do I really need these things if I can live without them for next month or so? Some yes, some no. I look forward to sorting these boxes out and doing a 2nd garage sale in less than 2 months. Lifting the weight of STUFF off of my shoulders.

I watched a TED talk that talked about minimalism. I may try a modified version of it. Packing up your entire belongings and getting rid of everything you were not forced to unpack in the following 30 days. That's a bit extreme for me, as it doesn't account for the little treasures children bestowed upon their lucky recipients that jogs beautiful memories.  Or the last Christmas gift from Mom before she died...whether I liked it or not. Still too precious to give up....at least for now.

I have a loved one that would be considered a hoarder by any account. Her "stuff" owns her. That's her thing and her road to travel but it makes me think that I need to reassess and evaluate why I keep holding on. My sweet dogs' last collar and tag?  10 vases? Does one really need 10 vases?

I'll let you know how the culling process goes some time in May. As I unpack, I will remind myself that the stuff is NOT the person and getting rid of it does NOT mean you cherish that person less. I found this helpful list in an article called,


LETTING GO OF SENTIMENTAL ITEMS

By Joshua Fields Millburn 
  1. I am not my stuff; we are more than our possessions.
  2. Our memories are within us, not within our things.
  3. An item that is sentimental for us can be useful for someone else.
  4. Holding on to stuff imprisons us. Letting go is freeing.
  5. You can take pictures of items you want to remember.
  6. Old photographs can be scanned (see below)
I'll print and post this as I take on the task.

P.S. Already, I got rid of a cross stitch that my favorite aunt did as a wedding gift 30 years ago. It was a sampler with our names and wedding date and "Together Forever" on it.  For some maybe, but not for me and that's OK.

Comments

Post a Comment

What do you have to say about that?

Popular posts from this blog

A Journey To Home

Image
My tender hearted girl decided she wanted to foster an old lady. Selkie is 14, is nearly deaf and nearly blind, has a hard time walking and uses her bark to get her needs met.  She got her home, took her for a bath and then basically loved this old girl for three weeks until the property manager decided that it wasn’t a good match (barking too much AND because she is a pit bull).  My girl knew it was probably temporary but she gave that dog a comfortable loving home, away from the chaos of the shelter, for a short time.  Ideally, she would have walked her home but that’s not how it worked this time.  Last night she stood and ugly cried on a strangers shoulder after giving her back.  I love that girl and her sweet heart.  I wish Selkie a new final home full of love. 
Read more

Private Eye

Image
We pass by the house frequently since it sits on a busy thoroughfare. We know to look every time we pass and guess what will we see. Will it be the two Dalmatians, sitting on the couch that backs up to the giant panel window, waiting for their human to come home? Or will it be their human, sitting slightly to the right of middle (allowing for a better view of the giant mounted tv across the room) of the said couch. They are never there at the same time. It’s one or the other. One sleepless night, when my body was willing but my brain was not, I did a little sleuthing. It’s amazing what you can find out about a complete stranger.   His name is Gary and, from what I can tell, he’s never been married. He has worked his way up in a air duct company. He’s now the senior VP but it’s a small company and he still goes out on jobs, judging from  the reviews on Yelp. I know he has two siblings and that their father passed away in 2018. His memorial was held in a Buddhist temple and Gary...
Read more

Go!

Image
 Vai. E, se der medo, vai con medo mesmo. When one is raised in an angry family, it’s not enough to say I don’t want to be angry. You must learn how to do it differently. That’s no easy task. If judgment and self hatred became a way of life, a new way to live has to be taught. There are many ways to do it. Reading, writing, sharing, practicing all help the change. Counseling, psychoanalysis, religion, meditation, gratitude, have the ability to transform but I needed to see it in action, it needed to be more tangible, visual, accessible. I needed to understand the possibilities. There is a YouTube channel that I watch over and over again in order to absorb how to live more fully, more open and from the heart. One of the first episodes that I stumbled on is this…. The channel is Reflections of Life and through it we get to meet people who are doing life a little differently, often more soul based. People who are living life, healing wounds and finding what is truly important.  I...
Read more