Sentimental Attachment

Motivational Monday – November 18th, 2019

Happy Monday friends. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was busy, and I didn’t get all of what I wanted to accomplish accomplished.

I had planned to downsize my crafting supplies, specifically my jewelry making stuff. I decided my time with this hobby is complete. I don’t want to make time for it anymore. I’m done. But still I can’t seem to part with it.

I seem to have a million reasons why I should keep the stuff, but when I examined all the reasons I have, I realized none of them were true. So, I kept digging. Finally, I found my answer.

And I didn’t like it.

The only reason I have to hang on to this stuff is sentimental attachment. I’m sentimental about the money I paid and I’m sentimental about all the hours I used to spend with a close friend doing this hobby together. She has since passed away and I inherited many of her supplies. So it’s not easy for me to say good bye, but I have to.

I can’t keep things just because of the memories attached to them or because of the price I paid when they were new.

If I did that with everything, I would be over run.

So instead my time with this hobby is complete. It’s time to pass it along to someone else who will enjoy it as much as we did.

I have a mug and a sweater from that friend that I cherish. I have a necklace that she made for me, and 39 years worth of memories. And that’s enough. My memories are in my mind, not in the stuff. Keeping these items does not keep her here. Letting them go is not letting her go.

Saying good bye to these items is not me loving her any less. It’s me loving me more. It’s loving me enough to know what I want in my life and what I don’t. I want memories. I want experiences. I want love. I want freedom. Not stuff.

By letting these items go, I am releasing an anchor that I didn’t even realize I had. Realizing this certainly doesn’t feel good. To be honest, it feels like ass. But just because I’m typing through tears doesn’t mean I am going to let memories hold me back. It doesn’t mean I am going to keep items that are no longer serving a useful purpose in my life.

I am willing to feel the discomfort of saying good bye to stuff.

I am willing to acknowledge that stuff doesn’t equal love.

I am willing to love my friend and cherish her memory without keeping her things.

And I am willing to release myself from the bindings of my stuff so I can freely move forward with my life.

Debby