What We Keep and What We Cherish

Looking around my room I see photos, art, books, and things that remind me of amazing experiences. Right now I am looking a pillow that is Aboriginal art, a memento of one of my trips to Australia. I see my copy of Yogi Berra's book, "When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It!", which he signed after I saw him speak at the 92nd Y in New York. (Great advice, by the way).

I try to keep and showcase things that truly matter to me. My style is eclectic and some might call it busy, but it works for me. What doesn't work is when I realize that I'm hanging on to things that don't matter and that no longer serve me and my life as it is today.

It's spring, and I've already cleaned out two closets. I have more to do, and as I divest I realize that I don't miss what moves on, and I'm happy it has the opportunity to find a new home. I have started getting rid of something when I bring something new. 

Some things like books are more difficult for me to let go. Books are my way of traveling from an armchair. The challenge is that I don't have unlimited bookshelves. So I keep my favorites, read others and pass them on to receive new books.

What do you keep and cherish? And if stuff is overwhelming you what are you holding on to that you can't release? Each of us has stuff that matters to us, but the rest is probably weighting us down. Pick a drawer, a closet, or a bookshelf and keep what speaks to you and let go of the rest. My goal to tackle the books in boxes downstairs and decide what I will keep, and what I will let go. 

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." --Eleanor Roosevelt

This quote is written on my journal, which I turn to in despair and happiness. I realize that keeping a journal might not be in vogue in today's tell-all world, but sometimes I want to share, and other times I just want to clear my head and write using a pen. It is a powerful way to get out what's bothering you or to capture wonderful moments you don't want to forget.

The thing is that those moments bad and good fade, and a journal or a blog give you a place to remember. You notice your frame of mind and you realize that things do change and what was awful or wonderful changes. This gives you a blueprint to understand that this too shall pass.

When everything is going swimmingly you don't always want it to pass, but it does. When things are falling apart you want it to pass, and it does. How you respond is what truly matters. This quote by Viktor Frankl sums it up: "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

So right now things aren't great, but I remember that it will pass. I will keep going realizing that just around the corner is another moment of wonder. I will continue to write in my journal, and I will start writing here in my blog, as a practice and a way to share my thoughts aloud, so to speak. I do believe in the beauty of my dreams. There I said it out loud in the public. Do you?