As the Great Edit & Purge of 2012 continues, I'm still in need of a Genie in a Bottle to help with this lofty Project I have undertaken, but this is the closest thing I have... so I just look to my little Genie Chachke for Inspiration because I don't want to become a Slave to my Stuff! *Winks*
I have a lot of nice stuff Collected over a Lifetime and so its not quite as easy as throwing out Trash... I have no problem throwing out what is obviously Garbage... but I have devised a System of how to tackle this Project: Keep ~ Sell ~ Throw Away ~ Donate ... and each piece I come to has to be part of the decision making process as to which category it falls into?
And I'm Training myself as I go as to what Important Questions to ask myself to make the choices easier as to how to categorize each thing. I'm more effective and less Sentimental or indecisive that way.
Because though clearly some things are a no-brainer since I either just got them, wear or use them a lot or have a very strong Attachment to them that hasn't wavered over Time... there is much more of the Hoard that isn't that clear or cut & dried for me.
So those are the items that I have to interrogate in my head as we meet... asking such Important Questions as:
Do I Love you or just like you?
Were you an impulse buy or something I had been longing for & finally found?
Do I really need you, either literally or emotionally?
Did I get you with a specific Purpose in mind... and if so... why hasn't that Purpose been fulfilled?
What is the likelihood that I'll put you into Purpose very soon... especially if I've procrastinated this long already? Is that Future Project so necessary or are you so necessary to it that I should hold onto you for a while?
How much Space do you take up?
Are you something I had completely and utterly forgotten about?
Are you something I've had packed away for far too long already... out of sight and out of mind?
If so... then why should I hold onto you? Will you even be missed?
What do You mean to me? If it is something very important then perhaps I should always make room for You. {This is why my Spiritual Collections rarely make their way out unless I've found one far nicer & want to pass along something that still does mean something to me Spiritually, but should now go to a new Home to be enjoyed.}
Are you still in good enough shape to continue enhancing our Space... or are you detracting from it? {This Question is particularly vital in the Garden Space Edit & Purge of Garden Art or Furnishings & Living Plants that the fierce Arizona Climate has taken it's toll on.}
Do I have too many of you & need to edit & downsize this particular Collection of objects... or perhaps too few of you to make it worthwhile keeping something that doesn't really go or fit with the rest?
Was the Intention that you should only stay for a while... and never meant to remain in my possession or delight me for very long... regardless of how Beautiful that Moment was?
After all, I Create Beautiful Things all of the time with the Intention of letting them go because they are meant for someone else, and that's never painful for me, it's Joyful in fact... so why not you too?
Or has your Time simply come? Are you no longer Fresh? Or perhaps you're part of where I used to be but no longer where I'm at now and so no longer relevant?
Has your Season just passed? And you're no longer in the Season I find myself in so you've been left behind and yet not let go of completely?
Oh yes, I have many Questions & Conversations going on in my head with these Things as we go through the Process... of either reconnecting or letting go and moving on. And really in Life it's not just with Things that we may find ourselves having to ask the all Important Questions of what or who can or should stay and what or who will no longer be a part of our Story?
I Believe it's actually quite Healthy to keep re-assessing and re-evaluating our Lives and what is currently in them... or shouldn't be anymore... and making Wise Choices as we move forward on our Journey of Life. So that we're not carrying un-necessary baggage or becoming enslaved to something or anyone that hinders our progress or causes negative energy & constant frustrations.
And it's just necessary to remember that it's all a Process... and takes as long as it takes... so we must do it at a pace we can handle physically & emotionally.
For me that means in small chunks... and reasonable Goals. Which at this time have been set to 1-2 hours per day and at least one box out the door on it's way to either my Booth... or a Charity. And anything needing Thrown Away to be discarded Immediately.
And it also means a constant Process of Practicing much, much more discernment about what is allowed to come in... and how long it will stay? There's a lot more criteria it must now pass before coming through the door since I don't want to be doing a Great Edit & Purge perpetually. *LOL*
And I don't know how many of you can relate to this Post and "The Process" I am currently going through and perfecting? Some of you might be very good at Editing & Purging as you go through your daily Lives and so it never becomes much of an Issue for you or a daunting task... I wish I could be like that... and perhaps one day I can say that I am... only Time will tell...
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Be Well... Dawn... The Bohemian