Letting Go

This weekend I was putting together a big pile of clothing to sell at a flea market -- you know, those clothes that haven't been worn in years but somehow you keep thinking that you will. As I took them out of the closet and later watched them hanging up at the market, I realized some of those clothes were 10, 15, even 20 years old! The psychic significance of letting go of these concrete connections to different phases of my past was undeniable. I've been struggling for a while now to move forward in my life in a variety of ways. As I looked at this big pile of clothing, I suddenly felt ready to take my past and put it behind me, having worn it well but needing now to don an updated persona, one with past memories intact but reflecting evolution and growth. Hanging onto physical items for sentimental reasons, or with the idea that perhaps one day they will be useful again, very often represents an unconscious unwillingness to let go of the past. We feel that when we find the new thing we seek, we'll be ready to let go of the old but it works in just the opposite way -- we must have the courage to let go of what is old and allow ourselves to be suspended in that in-between space, with faith that the new will indeed appear. That in-between space can feel scary, but also light, exciting and energizing. If you are thinking about new things that you want in your life and perhaps feel frustrated that they have not yet manifest, try going through your closets and drawers and finding any and all items you can part with. Think of the times you bought or used them, acknowledging that those times will always be a part of your history and remember what you've learned and how you've grown since then. Be thankful -- then sell them or donate them to charity. Notice what kinds of physical and mental changes begin to take shape, and how soon new things begin to happen in your life!