MiniMonos
Letting go of stuff
We’re not greedy, we say. It’s everyone else who is acquiring useless stuff. ~ Judith Levine
I've found that despite reading quite a number of self-help decluttering books, actually shifting stuff out of my house, out of my comfort zone, out of my life, isn’t always simple. More and more I realize how easy it is to lapse into keeping and longing for too much stuff, all the while recognizing that stuff isn’t going to change my life for the better.
So, why do we gather stuff and why do we hang on to it, often long after it has served any useful purpose? Often for me it's about emotional ties - there is the stuff people give me that I feel obliged to keep, and there is the stuff that speaks to me of good times or of times I held on and made it through despite the odds. For me, a lot of my stuff speaks to my past, a past I have often yet to make peace with. I realize that even that’s an excuse – emotional pain forming a barrier to utilizing common sense but still, it's very real.
Deep down, I also know that it’s the memory in my mind’s storage that needs dusting off the most. When I’ve learned to dissociate memories from stuff, I know I’ll find it easier to let go. Until then, I'll keep trying to spend wisely, declutter when the mood descends, and ask myself “Do I really need that?”. There will be times this doesn't work, but I'll keep working on it.
In creating a pathway to a more minimalist lifestyle, I'm going to practice:
* Acceptance that I am the sum of my relationships, my health, my dreams, my hopes, my sanity, my connections, and not the sum of what I have.
* Self-forgiveness for my inevitable moments of weakness while living in a society driven by a “stuff solution” for every problem.
* Realization that she who dies with the most toys doesn't delay the inevitable. It’s the journey that matters, not the collecting, it's the legacy of who I am, the love I have spread, that lives on, not what I owned.
So now there’s another “R” for me. Recycle, reuse, reduce, and release.
How do you let go of the "stuff" that isn't either useful or beautiful in your life? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Letting go of stuff
We’re not greedy, we say. It’s everyone else who is acquiring useless stuff. ~ Judith Levine
I've found that despite reading quite a number of self-help decluttering books, actually shifting stuff out of my house, out of my comfort zone, out of my life, isn’t always simple. More and more I realize how easy it is to lapse into keeping and longing for too much stuff, all the while recognizing that stuff isn’t going to change my life for the better.
So, why do we gather stuff and why do we hang on to it, often long after it has served any useful purpose? Often for me it's about emotional ties - there is the stuff people give me that I feel obliged to keep, and there is the stuff that speaks to me of good times or of times I held on and made it through despite the odds. For me, a lot of my stuff speaks to my past, a past I have often yet to make peace with. I realize that even that’s an excuse – emotional pain forming a barrier to utilizing common sense but still, it's very real.
Deep down, I also know that it’s the memory in my mind’s storage that needs dusting off the most. When I’ve learned to dissociate memories from stuff, I know I’ll find it easier to let go. Until then, I'll keep trying to spend wisely, declutter when the mood descends, and ask myself “Do I really need that?”. There will be times this doesn't work, but I'll keep working on it.
In creating a pathway to a more minimalist lifestyle, I'm going to practice:
* Acceptance that I am the sum of my relationships, my health, my dreams, my hopes, my sanity, my connections, and not the sum of what I have.
* Self-forgiveness for my inevitable moments of weakness while living in a society driven by a “stuff solution” for every problem.
* Realization that she who dies with the most toys doesn't delay the inevitable. It’s the journey that matters, not the collecting, it's the legacy of who I am, the love I have spread, that lives on, not what I owned.
So now there’s another “R” for me. Recycle, reuse, reduce, and release.
How do you let go of the "stuff" that isn't either useful or beautiful in your life? Please share your thoughts in the comments.