I like beautiful things. But for multifarious reasons I have needed to trim down my belongings and this has been a hard path. I was so reluctant to do this. However I have found that almost being forced into a corner regarding this has made me look at things in a different way.
As you wonderful readers are probably aware, I run a clothing bank and work with may people in difficult circumstances. One young homeless man said he could ask me to marry him yesterday, when I gave him a pair of jogging bottoms. And slowly amd surely, these encounters with many many people who have literally nothing, has changed me.
Can I part with this loved item? If I am not using it then yes I can. Posseszsions are of course needed, but in a world where many are in dire poverty and yes in the UK this is definitely true, can I share with others-yes?
I went off the charity shop model many years ago, because I felt they were overcharging. I hope this doesn’t cause offence, but many shops are extremely cheap and thus I find the charity shop market far too pricey.
So we run our clothing bank on the principle of a free shop. And now I question what I own and why. If I don’t love it then perhaps it is time to say goodbye.
A few thoughts for the Bank Hoilday. Please let me know what you think. Radical simplification has made me feel freer and I never thought this would happen. I feel less overwhelmed by objects and more in control. And I have only just started.
Thank you for reading. I wish you a beautifiul day and weekend, wherever you are in the world X
Journey into Hope 
So much speaks to me here, dear Hope. As you remember I too have started on my own journey with Letting Go, on many levels.
I feel it is important for each one of us to remember that our own stories are so Different, even when (especially when) our paths seem so Similar to those of particular loved friends, whom we regard as our “kin”.
Yet even when (especially when) such people are our soul companions… our solutions, our bye-words, our affirmations may differ widely, and healthily. Just as the life experiences vary, that brought us “here” in the first place.
My own recent “light-bulb-moment” is that “Getting Rid” (as I infer from the word “ruthless ” (= without mercy) is so very different from “Letting Go”. Letting Go is what I am engaged in at the moment – and I guess that is goes for you too. And sometimes my mode and speed of Letting Go will look very different from other times,and from your modes and expressions. Each of us needs to access and respect our own inner tide-tables,
To me there is so much more kindfulness and mercy in Letting Go than in Getting Rid. More gentle self-compassion, which flows over into Other Compassion too. And this serves everybody, or so I believe.
Thank you for letting me verbalise this here. It helps me to feel held, as ever, in your soulful and Hope-ful regard, as you are in mine xxx May you go gently and easefully with your huge project of courage and hope, without depriving yourself of inner and outer comfort and the vital sustenance to do this work xxx
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Thank you for your beautiful and inspiring comments dear Writing Presence. You have really made me think and I much prefer the term ‘letting go’. I think rid is a little harsh and possible expresses my somewhat extremist attitude at times. But the process is gentle.
I also like the ebb and flow idea you suggest; some days are definitley easier than others and some days are harder.
I feel that some of the choices around my possesions made me feel like I had to make really hard decisions and that is maybe why my language refelcts this.
I am interested to read about your journey with this and as ever thank you for your wonderful engagement with my blog. Hope XXX
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