Last weekend I hosted a little solstice ceremony at my house. I had shared with a friend how it was perfect timing; I had just thoroughly purged my files, my closet and my bookshelves. I must have taken ten or twelve grocery bags of shredding, recycling, and donations out of my relatively minimal household. I had that amazing “no secrets” feeling of a good purge of unwanted and unneeded stuff.
To celebrate, I was going to brew ginger tea in a very special tea pot. My father had given me an artisan-made ceramic tea pot for Christmas 42 years ago. When I took it out of the cupboard, I marveled that it didn’t have a single chip.
My friend arrived and we lit some sage which immediately smoked up the living room. So as not to ruin the moment with a blaring smoke alarm, I got out a ladder and took the alarm off the wall. It slipped out of my hand and landed right smack on the lovely tea pot, which did not simply chip but broke beyond repair.
Oddly, I wasn’t upset. I was lucky enough to be in an emotional space of letting go. Granted, the stuff I had let go of the week before was stuff that I was happy to move along—old taxes, books that I was never going to read again, clothes that didn’t flatter me anymore. But the process had still reminded me and prepared me for the eventual letting go of some treasures and other attachments that are more difficult to release.
As wild fires have already started around the state, it’s my typical practice at this time of year to try somewhat to prepare for the worst. We can not only prepare physically for power outages and evacuations (see my previous column) but also mentally and emotionally. Getting our homes in order and continuing to let go papers and possessions that are unnecessary or no longer serve us is great practice for letting go of the harder stuff as we downsize due to age or lose things due to theft or disasters.
Independence Day, July 4, is coming up and it is a wonderful time to free yourself from the weight of any stuff that confuses your space, makes you anxious, holds a negative memory or is simply ready for the compost bin, like old lettuce. Even old vegetables can make us feel guilty, so if that’s you, start with a fridge clean out, then move on to old mail. Every little bit of freedom is precious, and the more easily you can let go—from old jeans and tea pots to addictive habits, like smoking—the freer you are.