Letting Go

What is it about letting go that feels so difficult? It doesn’t matter what it is we are letting go of, it just doesn’t seem to come easy.

I know that sometime soon I will have that new job (I affirm, I affirm) and will be moving, and so I am in the process of packing and cleaning out. I’m calling it spring cleaning, because I keep hoping spring is on the way. Many people get that urge to clean out when winter winds down and the warmer weather appears, even if only briefly. Maybe it’s because we’ve been hibernating all winter and we feel the need to get the energy up and moving. While Spring isn’t quite here yet, I’m not waiting! Besides, I’m hoping that cleaning out and packing up will send a clear message to the universe that I’m ready!

I have moved 7 times in 10 years, but it doesn’t seem to get any easier. Every time I move I take the time to pare down and clean out, and yet I still seem to have SO MUCH STUFF!! I know that I can live without lots of this stuff. Twice in that 10 year period I lived with most of my stuff in storage, and amazingly I did just fine without most of it. Of course, I wasn’t working during those times, so I didn’t really need all of my books and ministry files.

I released about five boxes of books last year, but I still have four bookcases full. Books are the hardest for me to let go. I use them as reference books in ministry, and as ideas for talks and classes. Books feel like good friends and some of them bring back wonderful memories. Still, it’s tough when I have to pack them up and move them all.

I have no great metaphysical answer here. We all need to let go now and then. I know that. Some things are easier to let of than others. I’ve gotten much better at letting go of clothes, shoes and even household items. The Unity church here has yard sales every year and I release tons of “stuff”, every time; but books…even though I release and let go, the numbers just seem to keep expanding. I think they must mate or something. No matter how many books I get rid of, I still seem to keep accumulating more. Ah well, maybe I should get a Kindle. It sure would be easier to pack up and move.