07/22/2024
Junk Drawers
We all have them; junk drawers, junk closets, sometimes an entire room where we store stuff. Once in a while we clean these spaces out, only to put in more junk. We’ve been shamed for having them, the fear of becoming a hoarder or for holding onto the past. Remember that woman who claimed that to be happy, you only need a few things like three books; tell that to a book lover. Then there is this woman on social media who is always discussing the ascension and how we need to clean and organize our homes. I told a friend that I can’t go through ascension as I’m not organized enough.
My parents grew up during the Depression; this was a time when you held on to everything in the event that you would one day need it. A piece of advice, do not hoard metal paper clips and rubber bands – after 30 or 40 years, it’s a bad idea. I had a former neighbor call me up and ask when did we move into the neighborhood and did I remember a particular grocery store in the area? I told her that I didn’t and we had been in our house for about 15 to 20 years. I was curious why she was asking. She said that she was cleaning out the spice cabinet and found a bottle of capers with that store’s sticker. We decided she should throw out the bottle.
I owned a watch that I wore all through grad school. I loved that watch. I cracked the face of it but it still functioned. When I left school and decided not to continue, I didn’t wear it for a long time as it reminded me of not finishing my degree. One day, I decided to get it repaired. As I walked through the parking lot to the jewelry store, the watch slid out of my hand and hit the pavement; and then a car ran over it. I guess it was really dead and that part of my life was complete.
There’s an old purse in the trunk of my car, I never liked it and was planning to either give it away or throw it out. One day, I looked in it and found a meditation CD that I was gifted and never listened to and a set of keys. I still remember the little store in Minneapolis where I purchased the key chain. On the chain are keys, to the front screen door, the old door lock, the bolt lock, the back door, the padlock to the garage, the padlock to the back gate and a few keys that I never could remember what they were for. I have the keys but I don’t have the house. Why do I still have the keys? I don’t know. I never loved the house but the keys were a reminder of when I was going home. I can still smell the juniper hedge in the front yard, the click of the lock, the smell of roasting turkey and Christmas trees during the holidays. Mostly, it was my mom greeting me. The keys meant home. Then there were the early mornings of coming back from being with her in the ER and then there was the aftermath, when I was greeted by silence. Even then, the keys were comfort as I could shut out the world, drop my guard and let the tears fall. It’s said that metal holds energy. It isn’t like I can’t part with the keys, I just keep forgetting them. I asked my Spirit Guides if I should get rid of them, they just laughed. They said, “You guys worry about so much, do you really think it matters? All of you are so busy with clearing, detoxing and trying to perfect yourself. You’re all perfectly fine.” I suspect the other side has junk closets, too.
I write this as we are going through massive changes of letting go, trying to hold on to people, situations and things we love and walking around with things that we don’t know what to do with. There isn’t a finish line; it’s just a process of growth. I have many clients who keep thinking they “should” do this or that. It doesn’t matter. That’s just the ego reminding us that we can’t do anything right. Well, no one gave us the owner’s manual. Enjoy the day, enjoy the moments. Let the Universe sort most of this out.
