Many of us are very good at avoiding things we say we want to do. For instance, I moved to Arizona three and a half years ago. As part of the move, I let go of lots of items, many books included. I held an item and asked myself, “Are you willing to pay someone to move this to your new home? Is it that important to you?” If the response was no, it went into the give-away box. If the answer was yes, into a moving box it would go. If the answer was “I’m not sure,” it went into the moving box.
Here I am several years later, and I’ve been eying those maybes and not sures. Is it time to let go of them? Most of these are books. Many of them I haven’t opened since the move and in some cases long before the move. But they had been important to me along the path, or I thought they could be someday. Now?
Since I have started my artistic path, I have added art books, paints, and tools to my life. Some of them don’t have permanent homes due to the ones that moved with me. I have been avoiding letting go of the older items. Why?
Partly because I don’t want to make the physical effort to put them into boxes or bags and haul them to the Goodwill that is only a few blocks from my home. The other reason is the dreaded “what if.” What if I give something away and then decide I want it later? To be fair, this has happened with some of the things I gave away before the move. I do regret giving some things away such as my keyboard that I hadn’t used in a long time. Mostly, however, I haven’t missed the things I gave away.
This morning, I decided it was time to let go of the books I haven’t used since the move. When I do this, I will have room on my bookcase for my art books. Although it’s never easy to let go of a book, I felt some excitement at the thought of my art books having a proper place on the bookshelf instead of being stacked on my art table. I took action this morning and put some books into plastic grocery store bags and they are on their way to their new homes.
What about you? What have you been avoiding? Is there something you can do that will free some space in your life – physical, emotional, or spiritual space? Have you been avoiding doing this? Is it finally time to let some things go so you can move the new into your life?
This applies in a special way with your creative life. When we clear out the old, we make room for the new. Letting go of some stuff, lets air into your creative space and makes room for new ideas, new projects, and new elbow room to create.
I would love to know if this resonates with you, so please feel free to share in the comment section!
Creating with joy, grace, and ease,
Krysta
Letting go of books is like giving them a chance to share their wisdom with others out there. I am living on my fourth continent, so only a few books made all the crossings. The library is my best friend if I want to reread.
My father lived through the Depression and became a hoarder because of it. That taught my mother, me and my sister NOT to do that. Right now, I'm having great fun going through my clothes and a few other things to offer to my daughter, grand-daughter, grand-daughter-in-law and my great granddaughter. It's delightful to think of them seeing all these nice clothes—mostly from Kristi, my seamstress daughter. AND I'm loving the extra space in drawers and closets. Whee!
When Brad and I moved 9 years ago, we got rid of about a quarter of our stuff. Only one quilt that was accidentally dumped was a mistake. Otherwise, this freedom from stuff felt really good. Off to a new life feeling lighter. Since we also moved to a bigger home, we've been able to retain a fairly open living space. We're still in giving away or pitching stuff mode...often feeling that getting rid of something is often more enjoyable than getting something. :-)