Today, as I was driving home from an appointment, a song came on on one of my playlists and I thought to myself "I'm not sure I really want this song on this specific playlist anymore". Yet there was something in my head that told me I wasn't allowed to remove this song from the playlist I was listening to. I had this conviction that since it had been put on the playlist in the past, it must remain there forever.

This may seem like a silly event to recount, but as I sat in the car thinking about this song that I was having trouble letting go of, I realized that this is a common theme that can be found in other areas of my life.

This inability to let go of things that no longer serve their original purpose is something I encounter daily.

Since coming home from school, I've noticed that at home, I am tempted to slip into old habits I used to have, ones that I have shifted while at school. In some cases, I have slipped and I recognize the negative effect these habits have on my general well being. Now of course, intellectually, I know the easy answer to all this is to just stop carrying out these habits. Yet there is something about coming home and being in the environment that once housed these habits that brings them to light again.

Why is it that we can be so unwilling to let go of things that no longer serve us?

For me, I see part of the answer to be in our society's culture of consumerism. We live in a world of materialism, of constantly attaining new possessions, whether it be clothes, jewelry, furniture, the list goes on and on. In this mass culture, it is easy to let this consumerism seep into our mental "possessions" as well: the things we believe, the ideas we let guide our lives, the habits that shape our everyday routines.

Just as we are constantly gaining material possessions, hoarding them, making our closets bigger for the increase in "stuff", we may be tempted to do the same thing with our minds. While it is great to expand our minds with new ideas, beliefs, and feelings, I think it is also important to take the time to reflect on whether everything we are taking in fuels, or prevents, or growth.

If we have found new thought patterns that enable us to live lives full of more love, compassion, full of more productivity and wellness, then perhaps it is time to do some "mental cleaning" and release anything that is no longer necessary in the wake of these new discoveries.

I know it's hard. As someone who is a hoarder both physically and mentally, I too struggle with letting go of things, thought patterns, people, everything and anything that can be let go of. Still, I recognize this as necessary in the process of fully embodying our process and journey to becoming our fullest selves.

How are we able to grow if we are still holding on to thought patterns that bring us to a lower state or energy?

We are not the people we were a year ago, a month ago, even yesterday. Every day gives us the opportunity to embrace the new and let go of the old.

It's time we shift from a mental hoarding to embracing a mind that is full only of thoughts that serve us in the present moment.

It's okay if things change. It's okay if the things that used to bring you joy no longer radiate that same feeling. What matters most is filling your life with all the things that bring you the most peace and love possible, and letting go of all else. You deserve that.

Talk soon,

Sam