Attachments

Attachments........ we form them, with no effort.......attachments to others, to our pets, our cars, our stuff! Most of us latch on, and refuse to let go! That is a lesson I am trying to teach myself......let go, don't attach.

It started back in the winter, I had some of my mom's clothing......nothing I would wear, just hanging on to it because it was hers. I finally pulled it out of my closet one day, folded everything neatly and place it in bags for charity. I began to realize, the stuff was not my connection to my mother, my memories are the connecting blocks. Last summer I did the same thing with books, went through my shelves and gave many of my books away.

As we continue to renovate the house, the barn and the creative space, I am still dealing with attachments. Letting go of stuff can be quite painful, whether it is physical or emotional. But I do have boxes that I am filling up, then I will let nieces and nephews get what they want, and once again give to charity.

In the back of my closet I found a dress my dad had bought me, it is not something I would wear now, but it is vintage and I will see if my twenty year old niece wants it. As I am trying so hard to let go, Rick and his family are sorting out his mom's belongings. It is tough, I know that feeling of wanting to hang on to everything because it was your mom's or dad's.

But there is this incredible freeing sensation to let go also..........the memories are there and the stuff you choose to keep should really be special.

I never thought of myself as a pack rat, but going through cupboards and closets, it is pretty

obvious I am......every day as I meditate, I tell myself to let go.......it's getting easier.

I think maybe there are many of us who are pack rats, who think, well I'll use that someday,

I might need that sometime, and the next thing we know, our closets are bursting at the seams.

A good friend who years ago, lost all her belongings in a fire, told me that at first it is devastating, but then it becomes quite freeing to be rid of stuff. I hope I never have to live through that extreme, but I do find myself more and more, looking at things around me, thinking......do I really need that, do I really want that?

This will be a post that will have post scripts the rest of the summer, or at least until all the renovations are done......will let you know how the process continues.......I think there will be some painful withdrawals, and maybe a few celebrations, but it really is time to rethink my attachments.