But, My Deceased Relative Gave Me This…
I was working on decluttering with a client recently, we were going through her children’s toys when we came up on one that was given to her by her grandmother—who had passed away. I immediately understood her resistance toward donating the toy, as I myself have gone through similar resistances.
This can be a delicate subject depending on the recency of the relative’s death, and the intimacy of the relationship. It’s understandable to want to hold onto things our family members have given us especially family members that are no longer with us. I would like to take this moment to mention however, that our family members will always live with us in our memories, no matter what. We could own absolutely nothing physical, no objects, no mementos of our loved ones, and they will still live on in our memories.
As harsh as it might sound, you don’t need those things. From a human survival perspective, you will be fine, you will live, and you can even thrive without the things your deceased relatives have given you. Without a doubt, this is the truth. What it comes down to then, is our personal preference.
Things to think about
There is a realistic number of things that our deceased loved ones have given us that we can comfortably hold onto. Try to identify what that number is for you. Is it one thing, or ten things, or twenty?
If you could only pick one item that used to belong to your deceased relative, what would it be and why?
Will the thing that you decide to hold onto live in a box, far away in storage? Or will you use/see it daily/regularly?
Take a moment to sit and meditate on the idea that you had none of those things from your deceased loved ones—keep in mind, that for some people this is a reality—sit with it for 10 minutes. How does it feel in your body?
My personal opinion
I have found that we are more easily able to enjoy the things we absolutely love when they are not cluttered by a lot of mediocre things.
“Before sunlight can shine through a window, the blinds must be raised.”- American Proverb
Thanks so much for reading!
