Are You Attached to Your Things?
Are you attached to your things? Recently, while listening to Jim Fortin’s podcast, he said something that really struck me, “Do not attach to things.” (If you’re interested, Jim Fortin is a subconscious transformation coach, and you can check out his podcast here.) He went on to explain that by detaching from things, you can actually bring more abundance into your life. You are literally making space for other things. The question lingered in my mind. Am I attached to my things?
When we sold our house in Colorado, we put a majority of our things in storage; Not furniture because you sell houses furnished here, which honestly felt great, but all of the other things like clothes, sporting goods, kitchen stuff, etc. I remember agonizing over what to bring to storage and what to leave in the house. It felt like a series of really hard choices. We basically defaulted to… “let’s bring it” for most things and subsequently had a pretty full storage unit which you can see below.
After renting a house for a bit, we decided as a family to take an epic cross-country road trip and then move to Spain. During that time, I had two suitcases and a duffel bag. Upon returning to the US, we still didn’t have a home (we are building a house that is almost finished). That means our family has been living out of suitcases for… 9 months! Wow.
Before moving into our new house, Chris and I wanted to make sure that we really wanted and needed everything in our storage unit. Looking around at everything, we were both totally overwhelmed. We have no furniture and yet somehow we had accumulated SO MUCH STUFF. I looked at Chris with a dumbfounded expression and said, “We don’t need ANY of this!” I meant it. He immediately agreed and added, “What were we thinking keeping ALL of this??“
Having lived with so little for so long provided a certain freedom and lightness that both of us not only grew to accept, but actually loved. And, as we looked around at all the stuff, the heaviness was palpable.
Jim’s quote was top of mind. “Do not attach to things.” I realized in this moment of overwhelm that there wasn’t ONE SINGLE THING in that unit I really cared about.
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The Mirror
I didn’t even care about keeping the one piece that I’ve had since my early 20’s… my tin mirror (pictured above).
I bought this beautiful mirror at a flea market in New York City for my studio apartment on the upper west side. It was my first “grown-up” purchase and has always been really special to me.
I’ve moved that mirror like 5 times over 20 years! It was the first thing I hung up at our house in Boerne, Texas (above). I also brought it with us when we moved to Telluride, Colorado. It felt like an important piece…and a connection to my old self and former life before being a wife and mother.
Upon closer inspection I noticed the paint was chipping away on my mirror. I immediately panicked a little and then asked Chris if we could dissolve the paint and restore the natural silver color of the tin? He asked me, “Do you really want to do that?“
I paused and then answered, “No. No, I don’t. Let’s donate it.”
Letting Go & Moving On
The thrift shop told us it was “too big” for them to store and sell so Chris mentioned The Free Box. The Free Box is a place where people put free stuff in Telluride.
We carefully placed the mirror next to The Free Box. I paused for a moment before getting back in the car, staring at this beauty one last time. I snapped a picture, wished it well and smiled. I smiled knowing that someone would find this mirror on the street, and excitedly scoop it up. It will no doubt be the perfect piece for their apartment… as it once was for me.
Driving away, I realized that I don’t need to hold onto any part of the past anymore. In fact, I don’t need any “thing” in my house to make it feel like a home. All I really need is my family, our dog, Travy and a couple of suitcases.
Are you attached to your things? Please share your thoughts in the comments. If you’re interested in getting more blog posts like this delivered directly to your inbox, along with some incredible resources for women over 40, be sure to sign up for my newsletter here.
