When a person moves somewhere new, they find themselves faced with a dilemma. They have to choose what to keep and what to throw away. For most things, this is an easy choice, because you probably do not need that participation certificate from your third grade soccer team that you did not want to join in the first place.
However, what a person keeps says a lot about them, and somebody probably will keep that participation certificate. Even I found myself saving things I would have never expected to keep -- old essays and receipts and ripped swim caps.
We keep things for all different reasons. The most obvious reason would be sentimental value. We like to keep pictures of friends and family, because they remind us of a happy time. They keep us from forgetting the little things, like the colors of the flowers at Stagecoach and just how big you smiled when your best friend graduated. We feel safe when we have those happy mementos surrounding us.
Sometimes, we keep things because we feel obliged. They don't have much meaning to us, and we never use them. But the fact that you have it makes somebody so happy, and how could you get rid of that? By throwing it away, you feel it would break their heart; you don't want that burden. So you put it in a box and let it gather dust.
We keep things because we're afraid to let go. Humans are selfish, in that way. We don't want to let go of things that used to make us happy, things that we think we can still salvage, or things we think were the highlight of our life. High school shirts, trophies, awards, etc. That gift from your ex that made you cry when you got it because it was so perfect or the shirt you borrowed from your friend that you don't talk to anymore are things that are hard to get rid of. We're so scared that what we had was the best thing.
But the truth is, whatever we keep, for whatever reason, we hold these objects close to our hearts. They remind us of a time when we were our happiest and thought there was no coming down. They are a very brutal reminder of when we did come down.
The key to keeping things, like pictures of ex's and shirts from old friends, is that we can't focus on the coming down. If we do, we never get back up. Science proves that sadness and happiness are just chemical reactions in our brains, and it's impossible for one emotion to last forever. By keeping these little trinkets of our past, we decide what chemicals we allow. So, go ahead, keep the receipt from your first date with the ex that shattered you. Remember the good times and smile.
That's why we keep things, so that we can smile, push forward, and use those memories and lessons to build new ones, as well as to help our heart grow.
