A few words about tangibles....

I've been going through this phase lately of desiring to release my tangible things that are taking up the space I want to fill with intangibles. What is my resistance? Is it that I have worked hard to accumulate a comfortable life and I feel it is a tangible sign of success? Perhaps. Is it fear? Just what is it that makes me feel like I have to hang on to things? Do we really measure the success of a person by the possessions she owns?

I have beautiful things, at least I think so. A gorgeous butterscotch leather sofa that I've had for 15 years and cannot see another living room that I might inhabit without it gracing some space; a gorgeous oriental rug that looks so fabulous, a closet full of beautiful clothes that I hardly ever wear and so many other things that I hold on to because I think I need them. But do I really? I think the lesson itching to be learned is that tangibles only serve to carry me so far. It is the intangible, like the look on my granddaughter's face when she laughs, I mean really laughs...the kind where she can hardly breathe and her face is contorted in such ridiculous happiness and the immense love that I feel for her fills my heart to capacity where I think it will just flat out burst. Wow, it feels good. You just can't buy that. I loved to see the joy in my mother's eyes when I would surprise her by stopping by without calling, or the feeling of the warmth of the sun on my face, or the cool water that surrounds me when I slip into the pool on a hot summer day. Could I really buy those feelings? Could I hold any of them in my hands?

So I am practicing releasing. Clothing, gold charger plates that I no longer use, a pair of earrings that a friend loves but I have refused to give her because I wanted to keep them for myself. I never really thought I was a stingy person, but she really loves those earrings and I just pulled them out of a box that I found in my closet and thought they were cute so I wore them. But she really loves them. It is true that the gift, I believe if you're really paying attention, is in the giving away. The greater gift is giving away something you have loved at one time or another.

I live an abundant life but I'm learning where the true abundance that I desire lies and it isn't in the things that I own. I'm learning to let go of things I love, or always thought I loved because the feeling of freely floating them off to new homes is a much deeper and more rewarding feeling. Besides, my life is changing and I'm not sure everything will fit in the suitcase for my next big adventure.

So, the message for today is that I love my body more than the tangibles that surround me. They are just things and I would rather downsize my tangible life to open the cracks for the intangibles to burst through. That is where the true nuggets of the happiest life lie. So my friend, my black dress that I loaned to you, you know the one that you really love, if you're reading this I joyfully release the dress to you...

XO,
Karen