Out with the Old, In with the New

As I began cleaning closets to prepare our house for the market I found all kinds of things that I no longer used or needed. There were some things that I felt no sentiment toward. Clothes that I don’t like or wear, or that don’t fit were easy to give away.

But, then there were some items that brought up memories that made it difficult to let the item go. My daughter’s baby dolls being a point in case. I could not part with them. Heck! I still have the baby dolls I played with as a child!

I have offered the dolls to my daughter, who is now 32 years old and has two boys of her own. She didn’t want them and felt no attachment to them. This caused me to keep asking myself “Why am I attached to these dolls? They are ragged and torn.” I made them for my daughter when she was little and somehow they seemed to carry a part of me, part of her and her childhood, part of our past together.

Then I began to consider what else I am attached to besides personal possessions. 

What do I need to be free of energetically?
What is holding me back from my highest potential?
What would it take for me to be free?
Do I want to be free?

A lot came up–particularly unpleasant memories from my childhood. Events that had shaped me and how I now relate to conflict–or rather how I tend avoid speaking my truth when I feel it may cause someone else to be uncomfortable. I realized how I was giving my power away by repeating this pattern. I wanted to be free from this way of relating that causes me to repress my feelings in the presence of people I consider to be more powerful than I am. So, I asked my guides for help.

For the next few weeks I faced conflict everywhere I turned. I was forced to learn a new way to respond. No more retreating, stuffing, or pretending. I brought everything to the light as it came up. My ego was miserable! My higher self smiled, knowing how beneficial this was for my spiritual growth.

And, like a good neighbor, my guides were there with synchronicity. I got an email from Wendyne Limber offering an online course titled Intimacy without Responsibility. As I read through the overview, I realized this course was exactly what I needed to help me break free from a pattern that was limiting my happiness and making me feel responsible for everyone. I was being offered a chance to stop being concerned about how people react when I set a boundary that doesn’t please them.

I signed up for the daily email right away. I’m glad I did. Thirty-something emails later I have made positive changes in the way I treat and love myself whenever I’m faced with conflict. This is life-changing in a good way!