Clutter and Freedom

Letting go of the past is not as easy at it seems.  I find myself on the cusp of a trip back to Brooklyn to close up the apartment I lived in for many years;  before I became an interfaith minister;  before I built a career as a wedding officiant and an artist.

False Belief #1:  In New York, you just DON’T let go of a RENT STABILIZED APARTMENT!  Not for nothin’!  But holding on to it is completely unnecessary.  I recognize that I am healing in the area of my Abundance beliefs.  You can’t let go of one home if you don’t trust that you have another one, one that truly fits your needs and wants.  I love my new life in New Mexico.  And I freely release the old home, and say thank you to it, and to my loving community of neighbors, who helped me feel safe for so long.

False Belief #2:  You don’t throw away memories.  Well, yes, I do.  I have close to seven cardboard boxes filled with photo albums of my past.  I always thought that I needed to keep every picture, letter, memento of the things that I did and the people that I loved, so I would never forget them.  Many years later, I skim through and I truly cannot remember their names or why I have pictures or letters from them.  I haven’t thought about them in years, nor have they reached out to me, and I am just fine. In fact, I have even forgotten about some painful things that happened to me.  And I am completely at peace with that.  I intend to pull a dozen or so pictures out of each album, in case my niece Emma wants to know about my history, and the rest are going into the shredder.

False Belief #3:  My things have great financial value.  Well, much as I think I have fabulous taste, it turns out that no one wants my stuff… at least, not if they have to pay what it is worth.  I don’t take it personally.  I’m giving lots of people lots of presents as I pack up to close up, and what I don’t shlep back to Albuquerque is going to Goodwill.

Moving away for a year and a half on a trial basis turned out to be the real thing.  I learned that I didn’t need the many things I left behind.  I am doing just great without them.  I sometimes worry about all the money I spent obtaining my great treasures, and I remember that today I live a very abundant life.  My Creator and I are doing just fine making sure I have everything I truly need.  And it turns out that I cherish my space more than the things in it.

I send this missive out to clutter-holics everywhere.  You can heal. Just let go.  Admit how attached you are, and then open your clutching grasp and release.