I have lost quite a bit of Momentum in the Great Edit and Purge as we've entered into a brand New Year... what began in Earnest in late 2012 has Stalled quite a bit... and I know exactly why! It's no Great Mystery and I knew it was Coming... to be at this particular Crossroads eventually... and Ponder how best to get past it and continue the Journey?
In my Head I want to keep going Strong and continue the Great Edit and Purge of 2012 into this New Year and have the Great Edit and Purge of 2013 Complete the Process I have begun and was really making outstanding progress in. I set a Goal and I do Intend to keep my Promise to Self... and the Family... about it. It wasn't too lofty a Goal and it is totally possible and will be a Good Thing.
But now that most of the Easier Stuff has been Edited, Purged and Let Go of... we now come to the Harder Stuff... you know, those things that you still have a Love Affair with and an Attachment to. Letting Go of THAT Stuff that you're not completely "Over" is kind of like dumping a Friend that you really have a Great Relationship with and still Cherish and want around. Thankfully one can never really have too many Great Friends so it never becomes necessary to Let Go of those Cherished Relationships... but one can have too much Great Stuff!!!
The parting with Great Stuff that you still totally dig but really don't have enough room for to Display properly or use effectively and don't want to Store can be a stumbling block in the Process of any Great Edit and Purge Project. I'm doing a really good job in this Process, better than I even thought I would... but I do realize the Project Stalled because my Head and Heart have to line up to be in the same place to Let Go without Regrets or being too Emotional about it. And the Knowing that for some of the Stuff it's Time has come to belong to someone else!
Emotional about STUFF!? Yes, afraid so... I'm THAT type of Collector and Curator of Great Stuff... I do form an Emotional Attachment to some of it. *Le Sigh* Thankfully not all of it, or even most of it really, but enough of it that Editing and Purging to the point I want to be at is going to take an Exercise in Detachment that I'll have to be at Peace with in order to Finish what I have Begun!
And I'm finding Creative ways to make the Process Easier for me... starting with Gifting some of the most Beloved Pieces to Special People in my Life that I know will Love, Display and Appreciate them as much as I have. Items that I know won't end up in my Charity Boxes because at most Non-Profit Resale Shops I realize the Staff may not even Recognize the Value... and perhaps not many of the Patrons either... and treat it with the Respect and Care it Deserves. I'd be Horrified to think any of it would be unappreciated, broken, abused or misused rather than going to a Good Home intact. Yes, that is important to me if someone Adopts MY Favored Stuff... I have to at least Humor myself and Imagine that it will be handled right and cared for! *LOL*
Why not just Sell those Items and turn a Profit you might be Wondering? Well... I have in some cases been able to do that. But sometimes when I'm really Struggling with the Letting Go Process for certain Items, having it at my Showroom would just be Temptation to drag it back Home if it doesn't Sell immediately before I have Second Thoughts and haven't really Detached Completely! *LOL* If you Love something and have the need to Let It Go, having it hanging around within easy access and spending Time with it is usually not the soundest idea or tactic in the Letting Go Process... why Torment yourself like that?!? And there's always the possibility of someone manhandling it in a Retail Environment and I've been distraught when that happens to a piece and I was reluctant to part with in the first place and had to Witness the carnage of!
Such as the recent Vandalism and Theft involving a Beautiful Easter Egg Art Creation which unfortunately no longer looks like this ... because a Thief removed it from my Showroom and when it resurfaced days later it had been ruthlessly Violated and all the Vintage Bling had been savagely torn off and Stolen!
Princess T was even more distraught than I because the only reason she had not Inherited that piece is because I felt it too Delicate for a Seven Year Old to properly Care for. It obviously would have been in better hands with her, who Appreciated the Beauty of it, than at the hands of who got a hold of it and committed a criminal act! And its Sad when something is Destroyed or Diminished on Purpose. You don't want Beauty to suffer such a Fate when you have a Love for it... and have sometimes already Rescued it once when it came into your Possession!
Because we're not talking about those Items I "Picked" with the sole Intent to flip and turn a Profit from... that part is always Easy for me if that's the express Purpose of procuring that Item. We're talking about Stuff in my Personal Collections at Home that I'm Attempting to Cull on Purpose!
It's the Excess that the Person (ie: Me) prone to that tendancy has now decided must be dealt with. By downsizing the stash of Lovelies that has accumulated over Time... but that they still very much Adore... they just have too much of "it" now, Wanting AND Needing to Simplify and Mimimalize to the best of their Abilities. *LOL* Yeah, that's a Laugh huh, a Maximalist even Attempting to become somewhat of a Minimalist and have a clean break with Too Much or More Is Never Enough!?!
And it's not as if I don't have my devout Cheerleading Section Urging me onwards in the Process... Lord knows they are all greatly relieved that I'm finally at a place where I'm READY to Let Go of so much. Friends and Family alike are probably thinking "Its about Time!" but have been Patient at letting me Arrive and have a Peace about the Decision without Coercing me. They know I am a Human Magpie, a Serious Collector and Keeper Of The Past... and that I probably always will be, because it seems to be virtually Hardwired into my DNA. *LOL*
They also know that I Love to Give, it brings me even Greater Joy to bestow a Sacrificial Gift to someone Special... and that makes the "Letting Go Of" those HARD to Let Go Of Pieces much Easier. And so some have had to become the Gift that Hurts a bit to Give... but which ultimately brings a Wonderful Warm Fuzzy Feeling that Overrides the Love for and Loss of the Item. And seeing a Recipient Love such a Gift is a Priceless Gift to the Giver let me tell you!
So my Hope is that I soon will be able to quit Stalling and get back to the Business of Editing and Purging until I reach that Place of Balance and Bliss... where I have finally Succeeded in getting rid of and Letting Go of Enough... that the Goal has been reached and there will be less to take care of and Curate in my latter years. I know I'll feel really Accomplished when that Day FINALLY comes!
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian