This Thanksgiving was definitely a good test of willpower. There were lots of temptations all around me that I unfortunately had to pass up. Like cheese. And apple pie. And stuffing. And mashed potatoes. I guess the silver lining is that my food hangover was considerably lighter this year.
It was also a challenge for me in another way. I spent hour after hour this weekend cleaning out my closets, which were filled with clothes that dated back to Junior High. It was a daunting task to say the least! I’ve read before that our stuff is a metaphor for our lives, and getting rid of all those clothes definitely felt like shedding a layer. It was an emotional process, because going through our childhood possessions inevitably brings up memories and nostalgia…but it was more emotional in the sense of “how in the hell did I amass so much crap over the years?!” It forced me to take a good look at my habits and what they say or said about me. It made me think about why I felt the need to have so much “stuff” and had such a hard time letting go of it over the years. And it also made me feel grateful for some clarity on the issue. For a long time I think I was oblivious to the impact that all that “excess baggage” (both physical and emotional) had, and it’s a nice realization that even though I’m still a work in progress, I’m not where I was.
I really liked this passage by Louise Hay on clearing out clutter.
A few photos from the weekend:
Waiting for some turkey!
Football and fires make me happy
November light
I started taking private yoga sessions with my dear friend, Claire, and one of my favorite parts of her teaching is how she starts out each class with a quote. The quote below is from yesterday’s class and I thought it was a perfect thought to wrap up the Thanksgiving weekend.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie
