Today I let go of a part of me that has been hanging around, literally, for the last 15 or so years. Clothes that I bought, when I was twenty something and living in London, was studying arty, farty things at uni and going out every night. I shipped them back to New Zealand nine years ago, a tea chest full of velvet and silk that spoke of South London, adventures and experience gained. They were expensive and beautiful, vibrant and young…. but completely irrelevant to my life now with three children and far too many animals. It was time to let go, not only of my clothes but of the person that I used to be.
Now, I had options. I could have sold them on trade me for a tidy sum or taken them to the recycle boutique and got a credit note. But instead I put them in the big wheelie bin at the Salvation Army (I filled two!). Did I weep? No. Did I break down in a heap? No. But a slight tremor was present in my hands as I dropped my clothes and my past into the great depths. I did so with a feeling of melancholy for the glamour lost and an awareness of a life shift towards middle age.
But, then I thought about who would buy and wear my clothes. A young woman discovering my favorite dress, wearing it, loving it, receiving compliments and looking wonderful. I felt cleansed, accepting and then something else, something that I have been feeling much more these days than I ever felt when I wore those clothes…..I felt kind. Kindness #6….Out with the old.
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