Casting Off- To Throw Away or Begin Anew?

I am procrastinating today - needing to organize my garage so I can move the last of my things from my old house this week. The garage will serve as a temporary repository of these things. From here I will decide what to keep and more importantly what to cast off.

Clutter experts will tell you that people often hang on to things for the sentimental value they instill in the owner. I am guilty as charged.  My garage will soon contain several pieces of furniture that belonged to both sets of grandparents. Long deceased, their things remind me of a simpler life without the complications of loss.

In moving forward I am trying to hold on less to things and more to ideas. Do I need my grandmother's dresser to remind me of her resilient nature in the face of significant life challenges? What I am finding is that I have incorporated her spirit into me and if I give myself the time to quiet myself and listen she is there to support me on my journey.

This week I had coffee with one of the smartest men I've ever met. While he was book smart, he was also life smart. An hour into our meeting I cut it short because I felt intimidated. This man, who had lost so much of material value in his own life, understood that we all are seeking unconditional acceptance from one another. To be loved for who we are warts and all. With him there was no song and dance - no freakish side show. It was just this is me. How powerful a statement that was - told in such a quiet and simple way. It was overwhelming.

So on Wednesday, the old house that I once dreamed would be the perfect family home will be emptied. Twenty years ago  I began a relationship that I thought would yield the perfect life. What I now understand is that the ideal life is one without my constant striving  for perfection. It will be one in which I can be accepted for who I am and not what I do. It will be filled with elements of respect and tolerance. I won't need the clutter of the past to remind me that I'm lovable. The journey continues but each day my backpack is getting lighter. In both senses of the phrase I am casting off.