Can you simplify your life?
Yes! You can simplify your life… But I do need to say… it’s not easy.
Who can say what your actual needs are?
Sometimes we think we need something… but is it an actual n-e-e-d?
Some examples of “need”:
- Air
- Food and water
- Clothing and shelter
Sounds pretty simple, right?
But it’s not so simple. In fact, one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in my life is to simplify my life.
So a question that keeps coming to my mind is:
- Is it a need or is it a want?
I’m certainly not promoting a bare-bones life of deprivation. I like nice things. Nice clothes, a nice place to live, a nice yard…
But in today’s world there’s so much excess. And to an extent, many of us border on holding on to things for sentimentality reasons. (I’m trying to use a kind description of myself – but do I border on being a hoarder??)
Give you a for instance on sentimentality… my Mom died 15 years ago. Yet, why oh why have I kept her yellow bristle curlers? Or her (false) teeth? Why? (Can I not just hold on to a few things and let the rest go?)
For other things that I have no sentimental attachment to, there became a need for me to go through things and ask myself, “Do I really need this?” If it really does not fill a need or you haven’t used it recently, maybe you can let it go.
Some items I found and “let go”
- Old contact lens cases – I stopped wearing contact lenses a few years back when I found a had “dry eye”. They really bothered me when I wore them. Will I ever go back to wearing them? And if I do, will I use these old cases for storing them? Not!
- Dictionaries – Oh my. It wasn’t even my dictionary, it belonged to my daughter. But it was in my house and it had to go. Besides, with all the spell-checkers and spell-correction tools on our tablets and phones, why take up shelf space for an aging, soon-to-be outdated dictionary? (My daughter will never miss it!”)
- My mother’s curlers (sorry – no photo!) – Yes, I let them go… I have some nicer things as a remembrance of her. But most important, I spent a lot of my life doing things with and for my mom and my dad. No regrets. If I never had a memento from them, I at least had the pleasure of many good memories.
I could list many other things that I’ve let go (and hopefully you’ll get inspiration from my future list…)!
Question – Was I wrong to thrown away the curlers?
Question – Are there things you have let go, but now regret it?
