Stuff x Emotions ~ A guest post by Andréia
It seems funny to talk about emotions and feelings when talking about inanimate objects that can be replaced, but we place emotion and feelings on stuff all the time. It can be good or it can be really bad.
If you have a loving memory attached to a few chosen mementos in a little cardboard box or on a shelf, well cared for and displayed in your home it is all good and fun, because those things take you to a good place and make you feel good every time you look at them.
On the other hand, we, as human beings, tend to hold on to suffering and pain as well. Not only in thought but in objects that bring us sadness likeÂ
- …an unwanted gift from someone who we know doesn’t really like us that we feel obliged to keep which is constant source of irritation.
- …a piece of jewellery from a broken romance or marriage.
- …something from a passed loved one that brings feeling of the sadness of loss.
We keep some stuff around out of guilt or obligation (because it was a “giftâ€) Out of anger ~ yes, even the most sane of us sometimes keep stuff to remind us to keep on disliking someone else!.  Out of remembrance even though it causes us pain. Out of fear that we might need it someday. And sometimes we don’t even know why we keep it. And many other reasons.
So, what to do? Well: get rid of it! Donate it, pass it on to someone else who might appreciate it. Or even trash it, burn it if you have strong need of a good purge. But get it away from you and your home along with the grief. In the case of a reminder of a passed loved one, learn to associate the object with happy memories of that person instead of the grief of losing them.Â
I am saying this because our homes are our sanctuaries and should be treated as such.
Sanctuary, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is a “Refuge or safety from pursuit, persecution, or other dangerâ€. We seek in our homes a place to be safe, to take a much needed break from the world outside. It is our refuge, our little piece of haven in this earth (or it should be it). Some of the readers even decluttered their tvs in order to have a more restful and calm environment at home. So, if we consider our homes our sanctuaries, why would we keep something attached with negative feelings for us in it? There is no logic in this choice and it can cause a deep hurt along the way.
So, if you have any object/stuff that brings out in you feelings of anger, angst, hate, deep hurt, unhappiness or anything really negative, think really hard if you should keep it, and consider getting rid of it as soon as possible, or better still now. 😀  That is especially true for things that came from people we don’t really care about or like.
So, do you have any objects that are bringing you hurt instead of being useful or reminding you of something good? Share your thoughts.
Today’s Mini Mission
Declutter something that has been sitting in a storage area for quite sometime but still isn’t being used.
“If we do not feel grateful for what we already have, what makes us think we’d be happy with more?†— Unknown