Letting Go
New Years day rolled around a few weeks ago now and like most of you, I diligently crafted out my New Year’s resolutions. It was two pages long. Sigh.
Coincidentally, I happened to watch a television show portraying the plight of a family where one of the members was a hoarder. You know, the people who collect, keep and purchase material items, continue to do so and then never throw any of it away. These individuals are not the run-of-the-mill pack rats. These folks are hoarders.
I’ll admit it. I’ve seen enough of these shows to know that each show features the troubled hoarder, at a crisis point for some reason, his/her frustrated family members, the interventionist and his/her team. There’s a standard formula.
I know what you’re wondering. Why do I watch? I watch these television shows because the subject and emotional and psychological aspects of this experience and situation interests me. I admit it: I am a pack rat, so I get it when someone looks at an empty bottle and says, “You know, maybe I can use this.” I get it. I really do. I also watch because it’s a dose of feel good therapy. At the end of the show, I tend to feel better about my own lack of interest in dusting my house telling myself, “Hey, at least I can see my carpet.”
The other night, however, was different. I found myself engrossed in a different type of show featuring the topic of hoarders and their behavior. In this show, the interventionist talked tough love with the hoarder and explained that there are two reasons why hoarders hoard: 1) They keep items because of the memories they evoke and 2) They hold on to things because of the potential they see. Yet most times, that potential is never realized.
This interventionist’s take on hoarding was like a Star Wars fight pitting good against evil. Hoarding faces the past against the present, but hoarding behavior never puts you in the moment, which is where I want to be.
The true value of an item is in its timely usefulness – not in the memories. The memories are in your head and your heart, not in the possession itself.
I sucked in my breathe when he said this. This guy was talking right to me! That’s when I realized that I am guilty of holding on. It’s time to let go of some things. And I knew exactly where to start – my rocking chair.
My rocker was a gift from my husband right before our first child was born. Knowing someone who loves me very much chose it for me to sit in and nurse our son still makes me smile. However, sitting in that chair does not. If you come close enough, I’ll even whisper and admit that it never felt good to sit in or even rock in. I passionately love the idea of my rocker, but not how my body actually feels in it. The idea of it and what it represents brings me joy. But not the actual feel of the wood against my back. Chair, you make my heart happy yet you bring my spine discomfort. It’s time to let you go.
And this time, I really will.
Photo source: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/189-4854363-3917030?asin=B000CEB18E&AFID=Google_PLA_df&LNM=|B000CEB18E&CPNG=furniture&ci_gpa=pla&ci_sku=B000CEB18E&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001
