This week marks a full three months since we set our New Year's Resolutions and the end of Lent. What we set in January might have gone away and come back again by now.
I didn't make many resolutions at the new year, but for Lent, I decided to give something away every day. I wish I could find a way to describe how good it felt. In a nutshell, it gave me the feelings of (1) making others happy by giving them things, (2) while also purging my own life of things I don't need anyway. I have more white space - both physically and emotionally.
Why am I telling you this? To tell you I'm awesome? Definitely not. Just the opposite, in fact. To publicly address the question I can't get off my mind:
Why was I hoarding so much stuff I didn't need?
I feel sad I've held on to these things for so long that I'm now living easily without. I feel sad I gave away 10 bags of clothes and I still have plenty to wear.When did I become a slave to consumerism?
This challenge has changed the way I want to live. I feel like I have momentarily broken the more-is-more-mentality in my life. I want to stay outside the circle; I don't want to fall back into the aggressive cycle. I don't want to look at my possessions as an extension of myself or an addition to my worth. I want to look at them for what they really are: possessions.
And, honestly, I want to break the more-is-more-mentality in other areas of life. With my calendar, relationships and words. I don't want to be constantly piling on more and more until I break, but instead practicing an attitude of enough. An attitude of wanting more.
Such a beautiful post and love that you strove to give away something every day- that's pretty incredible! I think we live in such a more, more, more culture that it can be really hard to go the opposite way but I think that's a lovely way of living and I hope to try and join you in it!
ReplyDeleteThank you Emily! :)
DeleteHi Whitney! I just stumbled upon your blog recently after my boyfriend and I broke up. A lot of my single friends and I always talk about how it is difficult to meet a nice guy who is actually genuine and looking for a relationship in a big city. You talk a lot about how you went on a ton of dates just to figure things out and I was wondering where you would meet all these guys?! I feel like the only place I am getting asked out is at bars and that is not the best place to meet someone. Also, how and where did you meet your current boyfriend!?
ReplyDeletehi! I would say I mostly met people through mutual friends! I would love to chat via email - whitney.biber@gmail.com! :)
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