Two Simple Questions That Can Immediately Inspire Letting Go

When I look around my home, I often remark how grateful I am. It feels aligned with my essence of feeling calm and staying focused. It brings me sanity and peace when I need it most, and I must admit that it didn’t get to be this way overnight. Before I was truly organized, I wasn’t unhappy with my space but I did feel misaligned. I had things around me that I intuitively knew we’re only there because they entered and had never left. It wasn’t because I wanted them there to admire or to use. Indeed, it took a great awakening for me to come to realize how few of my things I really did cherish and adore.

It was in the act of moving myself to Asia, to spend some years teaching in China. It was when I was literally choosing my favourite things to pack, that I began to wonder about everything else. I knew it was all going to be packed away into a storage container, but I also felt that those contents were not going to be missed. This move sparked something very big in my heart. It awakened the questions that we’re previously buried.

• “How much stuff do I really need to live happily?” 

• “Why was I keeping all those other things?” 

A few years have now passed since that move, and I can confidently say that I have now lived into those answers.

How much stuff do I really need to live happily?”

Not very much. Between what I use day-to-day and what I admire to look at, everything else has fallen away. And instead of pains of regret, I notice this deep appreciation to be surrounded by my favourites–my little joys. I feel clarity in my passions and in my purpose. I have big respect for my new found limits within this consumer-based world. Setting the bar high, I consider more deliberately before allowing more to enter my space.

Why was I keeping all those other things?”

I was operating within an energy where many people still are ~ limitless. It felt normal to let things in, to shop, and to keep up with the ever growing desire for more that is all around us. I was holding onto gifts because they were gifts, and trinkets because they sparked memories. I had an extensive wardrobe because it didn’t make sense to get rid of clothing that still fit, that was still good enough.

But now that I look back, I realize something significant. I was holding onto things that were from my past. They were from my previous interests and old memories. I was trying to exist in my present while being surrounded by my past. I was keeping certain things from a feeling of obligation,  and keeping things because of an expired idea. Now I know for certain that when I did the hard thing of letting go of the many, I wasn’t losing memories, or offending friends, nor family. I was creating a new intent for myself–I was adding clarity, not losing stuff. I was choosing a life that became better with less.