Clear the past and be free of it
Photographs, memorabilia, a favorite sweater or a class ring, all hold memories that fill us with pleasant thoughts and feelings. Things we’ve held onto, items that have been given to us or things we’ve inherited are memory holders as well as potential clutter. Too often they become things that burden us rather than uplift us.
While it can be great to have special things that comfort and help us remember fond times, we can also get weighed down from things we feel obligated to keep or don’t know how to release. The things in our lives ultimately are neutral in what they are, it’s only ourselves that apply a meaning or memory to them. As we do, they hold significance and then we feel we need to keep them out of obligation. When we are obligated by our belongings, we become, in some ways, enslaved by them. They seem to hold a magical power over us and we feel we can’t part with them.
This article isn’t about getting rid of our precious things, but rather to reexamine the things we are holding onto and to check if they are truly that important, or have we held onto them for so long we don’t know another option. Like I said, these things are neutral aside from what we’ve attached to them. When we look at them in a clear light, we can see that we don’t have to keep 3 sets of dishes from deceased relatives, or a large 4 poster bed that Aunt Jane owned, or a collection of porcelain dolls our Grandma Betty bequeathed to us. We may have never wanted them to begin with, but out of family obligation, we felt we “had” to take them. Now they sit, where they have for years, collecting dust in a corner of our garage or attic.
We have the choice to revisit these things and see if we still need to keep them. We can always take digital photos of them and keep the memory without cluttering our space. I worked for one client who had been lugging around 3 different relatives’ belongings for years until she saw the insanity of it and passed it along except for a few chosen items. She felt so liberated that she didn’t need to carry it anymore. It’s not doing any service to the deceased. They aren’t on the other side smiling that we are holding onto all their belongings and taking care of them. In reality, many times, these things sit in a dusty place and are never seen. Sometimes we have these things out for display or we actually use them. The goal here is to question if these items serve a purpose and are truly meaningful or if they act as a weight that burdens our lives.
Reexamine these items and make note what holds significance and what burdens us and whose time has come for someone else to enjoy. Make a choice and free up mental, emotional and physical space. If you need help, we can assist you in making those decisions and clear what no longer serves you. Call us today at 510.501.1213.