Downsizing: Letting Go of "Stuff"

I’m planning to move!  And for the first time in my life that means “downsizing.”  I ask myself, when, or why did it come to this?

Over the years I’ve helped others move into smaller spaces, but never myself (unless you count when I became a Dominican!).  Over the years, though, I also accumulated “stuff.”  Some of it is related to whatever ministry I had at the time – books and papers, primarily – and for some reason I’ve had a hard time letting go of it all.  Now is the time, though.  So in the next few months I will need to remember, and to let go.

Remembering takes me back to those places where I’ve been and to those things I was concerned about.  I was younger then and had what seemed to be an endless lifetime ahead of me.  I never even thought about getting older or not being involved in ministry. 

Letting go, on the other hand, means that I need to remember that I am no longer the person I once was.  I need to let go of my younger self so that I can be the mentor that others expect of me.

Once again I need to ask: when, or why did it come to this?

A question for you is: Can you imagine yourself being, like me, at the other end of your life?

Ruth Poochigian, O.P.

Madison WI