As I have been slowly sifting through drawers, cabinets, manila envelopes, photos, and the like, my whole life has slipped through my mind. It's true we all need to de-clutter and downsize at some point in our lives, if we live long enough.
It isn't easy packing up memories. Deciding what piece of furniture, what pair of trousers, coat, lamp or extra baking pan is far easier. You can think about that piece of furniture that you may hate anyway, and decide if you have room for it in your next home or apartment, or if you might could scavenge a new or "good as new" one with more style. You can try on the clothes to see if they still fit, and you can easily toss aside one of those extra casserole dishes. You may even think that you'll give up that favorite little trinket, souvenier, or some of the accumulated costume jewelry that isn't in vogue.
But how do we declutter life and move forward into what will no doubt, be the remainder of your journey of life? How do you decide that all those beautiful greeting cards with special little notes written from the sender deserve to go to the trash bin as their final resting place? How do you give up those little notes scrawled so sweetly with "Roses are red, violets are blue..." Should we really need to keep that poem a dear friend gave us when we were going through a particularly hard time in our life and we stuck in our Bible? Or the hand written note from one of the children, just because he loved you and wanted to let you know.
How about the sweet little china box that you picked up at the flea market because it was hand painted with roses. Can you really part with the beaded purse that your Mother used at your wedding a lifetime ago? The rhinestone jewelry that still shines and sparkles just like it did eons ago is just waiting for the highest bidder. All those pieces of sheet music from the very first piano lesson complete with the remarks from the teacher, from another time so long ago, will not make the cut.
The sweet letter to the "Tooth Fairy", the newspaper clippings about special events in life, "Secretary of the Year" award, retirement clock, and the like will someday find their way into the trash. Wedding gifts, vacation pictures of a little girl at the Indian Reservation, small boys with swimming goggles and flippers on their feet and gifts or rememberences from the past that have been squirreled away for another day are all part of a life that has been filled with joy, sadness, hope for the future, and disappointments.
Every item placed in a box destined to be stored, moved, sold, etc. represents a grieving process not unlike losing a member of your family. One hopes that the "things" that we thought have defined us would be cherished forever by those who love us, but realistically it is impossible. In reality, what defines us is how we lived our lives. All of the things we accumulate in life, for whatever reason, are a mosiac of memories that will forever be a part of us. But, we are remembered by how we lived our lives, not by what we have accumulated in life, whether it is wealth, beauty, or status in life. Love of family and friends and faith in everlasting life are the real measures of successful living. The "clutter" may represent what we thought was important, but it's only stuff.........
