Recently during my coaching class, one of my classmates had a huge realization about her possessions, her stuff.
She had put her furniture in storage 8 years earlier and was shocked to realize how much she had paid! She hadn’t realized that it had been such a huge amount, money that she could have used for pleasure or in pursuit of happiness. She had been paying $350 a month for 8 years! She was shocked to find out that she had already spent $33,600.
She realized she was ready to let that go. She decided to have a garage sale and make some of that money back. It would take a little organization, but it would be worth it.
Her stuff is in a different state than she is.
I remember doing the same thing a while back when I put my furniture in storage for 3 years. In my case, I spent $9,000! It is a great deal of money. When I took my stuff out of storage, I was still living in the area and I used most of my stuff. You might be wondering what I did for the years my stuff was in storage. The answer is I was sharing accommodations. The only big piece of furniture I really missed was my piano. All the other stuff, I could have given away and still been better off when I needed to set up house again.
However, the deeper question is to ask myself are: What have I put in storage emotionally?
What have I not acknowledged in my life? What stuff have I not dealt with?
Am I storing resentments?
Am I blaming someone else for my life?
Am I hanging on to a broken heart?
Am I living with remorse?
Am I living in the past or am I living in the present?
The cost of dragging old stuff with me is much higher than any amount of money for storage.
My stuff is in a different state than I am in, not geographically but emotionally. It is time to clean it up. I guess I could try to sell it but no healthy-minded person would want my second-hand stuff.
So the answer is to do the deep inner work.
Again it is the “f” word: forgiveness.
Several of the prosperity teachers who have inspired me over the years, teach that forgiveness is a daily practice. To identify your useless stuff, make a list of all the people who have injured or harmed you. Forgive them. For balance make a list of all the people who have raised you up and made you feel better about yourself. Give thanks for them. This is useful stuff and should not be discarded.
At the end of the day, take a few minutes in silence, and gently ask yourself the question: “Who have I kept out of my heart today? To whom was I rude or judgmental?” Prayerfully make amends. Forgive yourself. Then ask: “Who did I blame or judge today?” Ask forgiveness and send them love.
Yes, we can carry resentments, blame judgment and harden our hearts, but the cost is much too high.