15 years ago our apricot miniature poodle, Prince (we called him “Hink”), crossed rainbow bridge.
Since then, my mom has held onto this bag of his toys, leash, sweater, etc.
A couple years ago my mom gave me the bag of stuff to use for Mojo. We’ve used one thing (a blue bear in which we’ve named “Blueberry” that Mojo loves!!). The rest has been sitting inside a plastic bin.
Today I chose to share the stuff with a local rescue group that welcomed the items. If you ask Ed about the experience, he’ll tell you I had a hard time letting go as Hink was my best friend as a child.
Immediately after the drop-off and driving home, I felt a bit empty, like a piece of me was gone. Admittedly, I fell into the ego trap that my identity was tied to my possessions. Letting go of Hink’s stuff felt like my identity was diminished.
Consciously I know this isn’t true. Your possessions (or lack there of) don’t define you. But the feelings felt real despite my role as an organizing coach.
Thirty minutes later, the feeling lifted as I reminded that part of me that Hink will always have a special place in my heart!
It’s now been a week and I can proudly say, that while I still think about Hink, I’m not thinking about his red leash!! In fact, I completely forgot about the bag of items until I came across this photo!!!
The point is, YOU are not your possessions. Your identity is SEPARATE from the things you own.
If you believe you are “better or less than” with a new/fancy or old/plain car, house, clothes, shoes, jewelry you are simply under the influence of your ego.
Sadly, this is much of the society we live in today measuring our worth by our material possessions.
You’ll always be the beautiful YOU without your stuff! And generally speaking, you’ll always have your memories without the possessions.
Give yourself time, set limits, keep a favorite from a collection, focus outward, snap a photo.
Do what you must to let go & improve your quality of life. And remember, abandoned items sitting around collecting dust serves nobody!
If you own items that feel difficult to get rid of (such as sentimental items, things you might need someday, etc.), you may want to consider enrolling in my new course:
