Creating Space

I might need that, or want that someday.

That sentence right there has had me hold on to a lot of stuff.

See, I’ve gotten rid of stuff before, then later regretted it.

That jacket I never wore? Well, as soon as I donated it, it was suddenly the jacket that would have complimented every outfit.

That story, and others like it, have me hanging on to a lot of stuff, just in case of some day…

We all have stories that can keep us where we are, doing what we are doing, and holding on to the stuff that we are holding onto.

Perhaps you can relate… is there one that comes to mind for you? Maybe you too have that “someday” fear.

I recently realized how this “stuff” is not only physical like my jacket (or mental like my story of the jacket), but also digital, as I’ve been cleaning out thousands of emails left undeleted in my inbox.

The physical “stuff” I have, is not overbearing. It’s not like the show Hoarders. I can freely walk through my home, and everything is neatly (mostly) in it’s place.

However, I *feel* the desire for more lightness and space. I crave that *feeling* of when I go on a beach vacation and can easily live out of a small suitcase. I love that feeling of freedom.

Being the full moon, and the fall season, nature reminds us not only of the beauty of letting go, but also the necessity of it for life.

Also, with the recent loss of my loved ones, it reminds me of the briefness of this journey, what matters most, and the detachment to “stuff.”

To move past the fear of, “I might need that, or want that someday,” I ask myself–– What am I truly afraid of? Do I not trust I will have what I need? Do I not see that these are mere physical objects that are brief in existence themselves? Do I not want them to be in possession by those who could really use them and cherish them? Do I not want to create the space for my desires to come in?

Then, moving deeper within to clarify, “What do I desire? What do I want to create space for?

Let’s take this example…

You have two hands. Say you are holding a rock in one, and a shell in the other. Life offers you a book. You really want the book, however, you have no hand to hold it. In order to receive the gift of the book, you must release the stone or the shell. Imagine Sally is standing next to you. She has an empty hand and has always wanted a shell. What a gift it would be to pass your shell to Sally, and accept the book from Life.

We are in this dance of life together. While our spirit and our soul is eternal, our physical bodies and our physical stuff is temporary. It is a sacred remembrance to connect to the spirit and the soul, and allow the temporary physical dance to flow… to not try to hold on to it all, but to honor it while it’s in our hands, and when it becomes heavy, to hand if over so it may become the gift in a hand where it feels light.

I invite you today to ask yourself, How do you want to feel? What is it you wish to hold in your hands? What is the desire you wish to create?

Then, I invite you to ask, is there any physical, mental or emotional *stuff* that has become heavy, that is browned like a leaf on the tree ready to blow freely, that is ready to flow forward to the next recipient of the gift, that you are ready to release to create space to welcome that feeling and that desire? 

I join you in these questions and this process. 

With lots of love, and releasing of unworn jackets,