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I kept focusing on what the end goal was going to look like and how it is going to feel.
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The energizing feeling that creeps in once another box of stuff was let go of, or another box of paperwork was released to the compost bin. Items given away, sold, thrown out or recycled.
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Everything happens for a reason.
I have formed the opinion that this ‘dis-ease’ infestation of not being able to let stuff go is what has caused so many of the health concerns of my in-laws. I think from what I have personally witnessed, that there is a high measure of truth to this.
Living at this level of physical accumulation of things is not sustainable. Treasured boxes of things have actually been reduced to boxes of paperwork that has been ‘processed’ through our chicken yard to create a sustaining soil for the multitudes of plants I have propagated to set up the new garden project.
It has taken us years of sorting out stuff. I’ve taken ute load after ute load of items to charity stores, furniture stores, rubbish tips and tip shops. Two houses worth of stuff has been released to the public vias garage sales (Yuk!), auctions and either facebook or ebay. And I must say that none of it really scored us big money. Especially in this economy. It actually is costing us. In more ways than one.
So, it makes me wonder – was it ever worth hanging onto any of it for the length of time my in-laws had it?
Was it really worth the hurt and anguish and mental energy to hold onto it and covet it? I know that over the years some of the better stuff actually just walked itself out of their lives. People just literally removed it from under them. I don’t think this is right and there is probably some karmic magic circulating out there around this. But my wife and I have also had to acknowledge that we have to let these things go and get on with life.
It is coming to an end, but there is still a long way to go because so much of life is still calling our attention. There are ‘bushfires’ to be putting out, dramas unfolding that need resolutions. Worthwhile causes that demand our attention and then lead us into new battles and new experiences.
I have come to accept that our current life if simply tight. There is barely any room for negotiation and even less room lest anything goes awry with a family members health or mental health. But there is also another thought that goes through my mind often. Someone else out there is having it worse than this, and it will not be like this forever. So I shut up and continue to continue.
There is above all, a new space being cleared. It is the old house that is being made new again – and with it will come a new garden, a new way of life and new opportunities. I know this, because I can see it in my minds eye. And that is where the focus is.