You Can Break Up With Your Things

A couple of weeks ago I bought a pair of jeans that didn’t fit me as expected. I was excited to receive them and disappointed when I finally got them on. They weren’t the right fit, size or color, and unfortunately, I can’t return them. I thought that I might wear them around the house and later give them away. I then thought that I shouldn’t waste my time wearing clothes I don’t like. This weekend though, I went back to my first thought. I can wear it for a season and then move it along.

My mom has a friend that dresses impeccably and on trend. I remember seeing her closet one day and it was surprisingly small. I assumed that someone so focused on her appearance would have a large wardrobe, but it was quite the opposite. Her mentality wasn’t based on quantity. She used her clothes for a period of time and then parted with them. Her purpose for them was to clothe her temporarily, not to live with them.

We should think of all our items in the same manner. They are to accompany us through a season of life. Some seasons are longer than others. We aren’t married to our things or to be completely devoted to them; they are just material items here to serve us. A few might have sentimental value or represent certain importance to us, but in the end, they are just things.

It’s taken me my whole life to understand the fleetness of items. Because of a scarcity mentality, I was attached to things in an unhealthy way. I saw their presence in my life like a long-term contract, mandatory until those things died, as if they were family or friends. As their stewards, we are to take care of them, but they are here to work for us. The truth is that things have value in our lives until they don’t. If you don’t pick it up, if you don’t like it, if it doesn’t work with your life now, then move it along. None of these thoughts are to promote wastefulness. We are to be thoughtful consumers and shop for what we need and truly want. Yet when the things we brought home no longer bring us satisfaction, they need to leave. They don’t need an explanation for their parting, just the door out.

I have gained a new perspective on my belongings. I can feel free letting them go because I can focus on giving them more love during their timed stay with me. I can appreciate them better for what they are and not for what I want them to be. I no longer carry a burden but more of a memory of a period in my life where I thought something suited me or where I truly enjoyed an item. I keep the joy and move along to a new one, when the time comes.