Monday, July 29, 2013

Lose A Ton Lessons - How Things Define Us

It's easy to let clutter in and it's even easier to let it stay.  Getting rid of things can be so difficult because it forces us to pinpoint where our stuff and the purpose of our life intersects.  Once we see how these two things relate to one another, we can begin to look through our possessions with a lens that is helpful for weeding out stuff that has become clutter and keeping the things that are useful and beneficial to who we are and where we're going.

I often wonder what would happen if someone I didn't know took a tour through my home.  Who would they think I was based on what they saw?  What would they think our dinners looked like if they opened up the fridge and the pantry?  What games would they think we played the most often based on what they found in the game closet?  What idea would they have about our family relationships based on the photographs on the wall?  Would they know I am a Christian and if so, how?

What does my stuff say about me?  And more interestingly, what does my stuff say TO me?

On Day 8 of my "official" 10-day challenge, I dug out a box of old notes, journals, and poems from high school.  Not only were these funny to read as I took them out one by one, but it was also SUPER embarrassing to read them again.  I wrote so many bad poems about unrequited love!  I also had a lot of depressed journals and poems where I was convinced the world didn't understand me and couldn't relate to what I was going through.  Oh, the life of a teenager.  Reading these things again brought me back to that lonely place and I thought, "Why on earth am I still hanging onto these?"  I don't want these things popping up intermittently throughout my life to remind me of who I was then.  These are not helpful to building me up and quite honestly I think I would change my name and move to a remote island if anyone I knew EVER read these bad poems!  I can't believe I lugged all those stupid things through 4 moves in my life.  Sheesh!  They are not helping me carry out my life's purpose nor are they helping me to build my self-confidence.  No more.  They are going in the campfire.

Let go of the pieces of your past that make you cringe and hang onto the pieces that make you hold your head higher.


(While you're doing that, I suggest you let this play in the background.)






No comments:

Post a Comment