As I pulled the holiday decorations from my attic and basement yesterday I came to realize…I have too much stuff. Most of us are pretty good at accumulating ‘stuff’. Once we have it, we hold on to it. We think ‘well, I’ll keep this in case someday down the road I need it.’ And then that day doesn’t come…yet we still hold the stuff.
One thing that I have learned through my experiences of the last few years is that we are ALL sojourners. Sojourners temporarily reside somewhere. We are all just passing through, yet we hold onto our stuff as if it is a part of us. In the course of our lives we will be a baby, a child, a teen, a young adult, a middle-aged adult and an elder. We also try on the hats of parenting, employee, boss, teacher etc… We aren’t these things really, we are just sojourning through the experiences of being these things. Can you imagine if we still had all the stuff from when we were 10? We would probably be candidates for ‘Hoarders’. I don’t mean to make light of hoarding, though. It is a serious problem at the far end of the ‘possession’ spectrum that keeps those poor souls trapped. At some point, most of us relinquished what we had at the age of 10 because we were done with it. As adults, we have a more difficult time recognizing the time to transition. If we can’t let go of our stuff (our past), how can we expect the new to appear? If we are sojourners, on a pilgrimage of life, the last thing we need is to carry anything extra with us. The lighter we travel, the easier the journey.
We all know how awesome it feels to clean out a closet. Yes, perhaps it isn’t so much fun in the midst of it, but after, you just can’t help but admire your handiwork. You can’t keep from feeling lighter. Why not feel like this every day?
As December begins, I challenge you (and myself) to lessen our loads. Not only will we feel lighter but we will also be serving our fellow humans by donating what we used to love. It feels amazing to give something of ours to someone who will treasure it. It is a magical feeling. It makes us feel powerful, it makes us feel abundant that we have something to give (which we all do), and it makes us feel connected to one another. It also opens the space energetically to allow what’s next for us to make its way in.
The plan is simple really. For each day of December, give something away. Give it away quietly. Don’t expect anything in return, not even gratitude. If time constraints make it impossible for you to deliver your former treasures to those in want or need of them every day, simply put aside one item per day in a box or in your car and deliver a week’s worth over the weekend. Bring it to a donation box, Savers, the Salvation Army, a local church or give something you used to love to a friend who you know will appreciate it. It can be a top that you love, but that just doesn’t fit right anymore and might fit your best friend perfectly. It could be extraneous kitchen pots and pans, glasses or plates. It could be books, videos, jewelry or trinkets that you once loved but no longer do. Release it…all.
At the end of the month you will be 31 items lighter. You will have shared your treasure with another, made your luggage lighter and will be perfectly primed for the promise of a new year and new possibilities.