Back to Simplicity

In preparing for my move to Hawaii, I have been releasing a LOT of things.  It’s amazing how easy it can be to accumulate so much stuff over time.  There were some beautiful items stored in my garage that bared no emotional attachment for me that someone else could have been using all these years.  And the books!!! Oh my gosh!  How many books does one person need?  Especially when there aren’t enough shelves available for them all.  And, again, many MANY others could be enjoying.....and now will be.  

This process has led me to contemplate some of the impact of our culture’s tendency to hoard stuff.....even if on a micro-scale.  How does it effect us as individuals? As a society?  Can it be one of the areas that hold us back from experiencing our fullest potential?  ‘They’ say clutter represents clutter of the mind.  Does it matter if the clutter is visible?  What if the closets, cupboards, file cabinets and garages are full?  It’s still clutter.....just well hidden.  And what about the ecological impact of all of our collective stuff?

This experience also led me to recall a ‘freedom’ mantra I had years ago.  It remained my mantra until I gained a strong sense of freedom in multiple ways.  Yet, now, as I release so many physical things I am beginning to feel a new and deeper sense of freedom.  I still have things to release and still maintain a sense of attachment to some stuff.  Yet, if some of those things were lost, it wouldn’t be devastating.  I may be sad and may even mourn it a little.  Then I’d move on, or perhaps I would create something even better than what was lost.  Things don’t matter nearly as much as people and relationships do.  

Any thoughts and further insights shared would be appreciated.


By Tonya Tyler