Lighten Up & Let Go

What happens when you outgrow your life

Life’s Pathway

We are born into this world with nothing.

When we die, we can take nothing.

Between birth and death, there is STUFF.

Lots of stuff!

As soon as our little brains can function, people stuff things into it. And we get physical stuff too.

The longer we live, the more stuff we acquire.

Mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Good, bad, and indifferent.

Left unchecked, this is a dangerous situation. Stuff weighs a lot no matter what form it takes.

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Putting The Brakes On

There comes a time in a person’s life when they must jettison stuff.

This is the moment when they realize they’ve been set free.

It happens all the time.

It’s happened to me several times. Some by choice and some not. It didn’t matter, I realized that I’d outgrown it anyway.

It’s all about how you accept the loss.

When Hurricane Sandy hit hard destroying much in its path, the reaction of people who lost stuff was interesting. Most people mourned losing their stuff. Very few were grateful or cared that their family was alive.

In contrast, many victims of California wildfires expressed gratitude that they survived and that sometimes their animals, who had been left behind were alive. Their stuff? Not so much.

What makes us cling to stuff?

What makes us let go?

People who downsize their lives find that they have a newfound freedom. They feel lighter as if a weight has been lifted.

Maybe you know this feeling. Maybe you’ve put the brakes on too.

I know that as I age I keep ‘dejunking’ my life.

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Less and Less Gives You More

Anyone who gardens would tell you that pruning plants are a must to get the best yield. I used to grow roses and pruning them back produced the healthiest and biggest blooms.

Our lives are like that too.

Picture an overgrown yard with wild-growing plants, shrubs, and lawns. It’s ugly and sad. It screams neglect.

Your life is a precious gift. Each day you are blessed with is another chance to shine at your best.

Stuff is an anchor keeping you stuck. You can’t shine if you’re tied down.

By intentionally pruning off the dead wood of:

• Things

• Toxic people

• Bad habits

• Limiting mindsets

You can lift the weight off yourself and begin to discover a new you.

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A Transformation

Our culture is all about acquiring stuff and more stuff. Consumers are the backbone of our capitalist society. It’s our moral responsibility to buy so people keep their jobs…or so we’re told.

Pre-World War 2, people didn’t shop til they dropped. It wasn’t a thing.

This mindset of mass consumerism is a very contrived modern tactic.

Landfills are loaded with unwanted clothing and other consumeristic refuse.

We throw away so much that we “had to buy” that we’re adding to the global warming problem.

The only ones benefitting from this are the corporations and the storage units.

By dumping the physical stuff you’d be a whole lot richer, have lots more room, and less to clean, store, and deal with.

I’ll bet you know a few people that you wonder why you talk to them. People who make you feel bad when they are around you. People who you dread. Think about losing them too. I knew too many people who didn’t belong in my life. I cleared them out and haven’t regretted it.

Not everyone who is in your space belongs there. People should bring into the relationship kindness, support, caring, and honesty at a minimum. Toxic relationships are the opposite.

We all have bad habits. I tend to waste time with my phone and procrastinate when I don’t want to do something. I’ve done both of these things a lot this week.

Bad habits can become permanent things and can grow into monsters if they’re not checked.

People seem to think that it’s difficult to stop bad habits. That’s a limiting mindset, which needs to go too.

We collect both of these problems because of years of conditioning. We’ve been exposed to so much in our lives that it makes us believe we’re stuck with these things.

Bad habits are hard to break but there’s lots of information now on how to get that monkey off your back. You’re not alone with your problems either. There’s a lot more help available for so many issues.

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Growth is an Evolution

As we age we grow. How we adapt to our lives determines how we live our lives.

Some people just go along to get along and miss out on so much.

Some people take on life as a challenge. How they take on life depends on how they grow.

Life is a challenge for sure. It challenges us to evolve, not settle or quit.

One of my greatest joys in growing older is the new horizons I’m encountering. New knowledge, interests, & outlook. Loving life and embracing it fully. I couldn’t have done this without letting stuff go - mentally, emotionally, and physically.

I hope this post gives you food for thought. Embrace life fully. Life’s too short to waste time. If you’ve already let go I’d love to hear your story. Leave me a comment.