Ouch! That Smarts!
Stifling a curse after stepping barefoot on my son’s ’57 Chevy Hot Wheel, I could relate to the mom in my 3-year-old’s current favorite bedtime story all too well. Too Many Toys! David Shannon was painfully accurate in the challenges of keeping your child’s sea of toys from overtaking the entire house. Or is that just me?
As I was rubbing the sting out of my foot, my mind wandered to a lesson one of my mentors shared with me. If you hang on to all the things you don’t want in life, you will never have room to receive the things you do want.
Peeking in the kids’ toy closet, I knew we had a lot that was ready to be carted off to Goodwill. But it was more than that. What else was I hanging on to in my life that was blocking out the things I really wanted?
I could think of a couple of grudges I could let go of that weren’t serving me. Forgiveness is so liberating! I could also think of some beliefs that are holding me back. For example, the belief most American women (myself included most days) have that we need to be flawless and sickly skinny to be beautiful. Hanging on to that is preventing me from really loving myself and showing my kids that you don’t have to meet someone else’s criteria of perfect to be stunning and lovable.
This week, we are going to clean out our closets and fill the shelves of Goodwill with stuff we don’t need anymore. And I’m going to get rid of a couple of grudges to make room for healthier relationships and more love.
How about you? What are you holding onto in your life that really should be kicked to the curb? I’d love to hear from you.
Happy De-Cluttering!
