Excerpt from Daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis
The painful experience of downsizing seems universal. Of course, there may be a small percentage of people who actually enjoy the process of purging their possessions. I know there are minimalists who delight in living with bare essentials. Religious orders may live in sparse environments to encourage a focus on the spiritual aspect of life. But the vast majority of us spend our lives collecting possessions that somehow define who we are. To think of parting with those things is painful and, in some situations, a burden that is crippling. I’ve written so much about stuff in our homes that paralyze us, but for elders in their 80s and 90s, the ordeal of downsizing is catastrophic. A profound thought came to me recently. Memories are mobile.
When was the last time you watched a TV news story showing a family that stands in the remains of some terrible natural disaster, holding each other and being so grateful that their family was safe? The house and all the contents are trivial compared to the lives saved. What if we had that attitude every day? If every possession was torn away, would we not have our lives and memories? Memories are mobile, and we always take them with us, while material possessions may be left behind or even destroyed. The real, authentic, and meaningful life that each of us experiences is ‘in’ us, not around us. Humans have the unique gift of storing memories that are completely portable. Is it possible we are too clingy to the outward possession? Before the downsizing process begins, we must ask: “What is really important to me?” “What is essential for moving forward?” “If a storm wiped away all of my possessions, would I be able to carry on with my memories?”
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