Hello World!
The concepts of conscious consumerism, getting rid of the unnecessary, possessing less and being more present to our lives is now part of our every day. And many of us have already taken the path to apply part of them.
Having lived on an island that doesn’t offer much shopping options outside the essentials, I was forced to live with what I have, shop for what I really need when travelling and come to the realization that many of the possessions I had were not of use. In addition to this, moving several times helped me go through my belongings and keep what I thought were “my” essentials. My closets looked pretty tidy, I had it all figured out.
Reading a book like “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: a simple, effective way to banish clutter forever” (by Marie Kondo) was overrated. That’s what I thought until it landed on my desk.
Apart from the concepts discussed above, I did not expect that this book would raise any feelings. But while reading it, I actually realized that my sense of safety was way more rooted into the past than what I believed. To cope with life’s challenges, I had learnt to hang on to happier times from the past by collecting and keeping all kind of souvenirs – from letters to clothes or pictures. This tendency had taken a silent path throughout my life.
I knew that letting go had been one of my major struggles. Not only did I hang on to the good memories but I had trouble letting go of what were once good relationships, friendships or anything that would anchor me in that sense of safety. I had tried different approaches to “learn to let go” but that meant no safety net. In the end, I thought I was just a very sentimental person. Being rooted into the past translated as a way to keep happy points of memories immutable. In a way, that is refusing to open our eyes to the evolution of certain things. And that’s not in line with my distaste for labels or anything that keeps me free from moving forward.
Well, this book shed light on the dusted corner I had not worked on before. I resumed to apply the instructions of the KonMari Method, or at least in a way that suited me. Now my closet is half what it was and I own a single box of souvenirs containing solely items which bring me joy. I cleared up the past to make space for the new adventures to come and I can already sense the lightness around me. I feel more rooted into the present, ready to receive what the future holds for me.
And you, what are you holding on to?
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