It takes courage – and big deep breaths!

It takes courage … and a big deep breath!

The mountain seemed massive and steep. The summit, the peak I wished to reach, was far off in the distance. There were no switchbacks to make the climb easier. It appeared to be an endless uphill climb.

I hadn’t prepared or trained for this climb, let alone be able to reach the ultimate peak—the peak I truly wanted to reach.

It made me sweaty, gasping for breath with my heart pounding a mile a minute. I almost gave up before I began. Who was I kidding?

But then I reminded myself I’ve done this before and made it to the top. Yes, it was overwhelming and emotionally charged, yet I did it anyway. I knew it did take courage and a big deep breath.

No, I’m not talking about climbing an actual mountain. Yet, the task sure seemed like one.

If not a real mountain, then what is it?

The mountain of which I speak is dealing with other people’s stuff. Stuff that got passed down to you or left behind by a loved one. Sentimental stuff. Those things we can’t bear to get rid of, have kept, labeled, or decided are sacred and untouchable.

We convince ourselves we cannot let go of those piles of things. We are held hostage by our own clinging and clutching tightly. And become prisoners by the very things we labeled as untouchable or sacred.

We make up incredible stories about the stuff, sentencing ourselves to a lifetime of keeping them. The life sentence so many of my clients and friends have lived with for eons. Garages, attics, basements, and storage units are full of other people’s stuff.

I was determined not to end up with that life sentence. So, once again, I climbed that mountain of the untouchables, the sacred, and must-keep items. I let go of two beautiful keepsakes of my parents that I had held as sacred and told myself I MUST keep.

No one else in the family wanted these keepsakes – two beautiful albums filled with memories of my parent’s 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries. I didn’t blame them. These albums were large and took up a lot of space – the size and weight of a coffee table book. Who has a coffee table these days? I certainly did not.

Not to mention I had not lovingly displayed them anywhere in my home. Instead, they were hidden and locked away in a canvas tote in my garage.

How is that loving? If these were so sacred, then why were they hidden? Unseen. Buried amongst other dusty boxes and bins.

So, what did I do? I threw them away.

But first, before you think I have lost my mind or was heartless, I took photos of the entire 50th album, the one my daughter lovingly and beautifully created for her grandparents. I digitally captured the images on each page, along with a few snaps from the 25th.

My husband and I then held our hands over these precious items, sent love and appreciation to them, and spoke of my parents and their joy in celebrating together. Their 50th was a Caribbean cruise on which the entire family went, us included.

Then my dear hubby put them in the trash.  I was thankful I had his help.

Was this easy? Oh, heck no!

I’m not suggesting you must do this. Each of us must make that decision for ourselves. However, in this case, no one wanted these albums, which surprisingly included me.

So, ultimately I asked myself, “What value were they hidden away only to become someone else’s burden upon my leaving the planet?”

Article by Joan Silva published in the monthly Crockett Signal magazine.

February 2023 Issue.