These Boots Are Made For Walking...

​It’s strange but over the last two weeks I’ve heard the phrase “What are you willing to walk away from?” several different times.  Once from a podcast, once from an online article and once from a movie.  So, it got me thinking “What am I willing to walk away from?”
 
I know we’ve all run this scenario through our minds – our house is on fire and we only have seconds to save what matters most to us.  Of course, we save the kids first, pets seconds, maybe we grab a family heirloom, photos…but what else? 
 
What else would make you run back into your burning house?  Seriously, take a minute and think about it.
 
I’m really hoping no one even considered anything in their closet.  I mean, I LOVE my Kate Spade purses but they are ALL replaceable.  In fact, everything I own is replaceable.  So, while it’s easy to say “I would never run back into a burning house for my material possessions” it’s harder to admit how much value we are currently placing on them.
 
I hope you all can see how I’m going to tie this back into my one year challenge and how I’m trying to change my own personal views of my clothing and my possessions.  It’s one thing to say “I’m not buying clothes” but it’s an entirely different thing to say “I’m not attached to anything I own”. 
 
I know I’ve quoted Joshua Fields Millburn before (he’s from The Minimalists), but I think he does a better job of explaining what I’m trying to say here:
 
“If I purchase new possessions, I need to make certain I don’t assign them too much meaning. Being able to walk away means I won’t ever get too attached to my belongings, and being unattached to stuff makes our lives tremendously flexible—filled with opportunity.”  http://www.theminimalists.com/walk-away/  
 
Joshua goes on to explain that walking away doesn’t just apply to stuff, it also applies to habits, thoughts, and ideas.  And being willing to walk away from bad habits, negative thoughts, and old ideas  show our willingness grow and improve ourselves.
 
When I was a teenager I remember my sister Windy wearing a new ring she had picked up at a flea market.  She didn’t spend a lot of money on it, but she was pretty proud of it and it looked nice on her.  A couple of weeks later we were at a cookout and a family friend walks over and says how much she LOVES that ring and that she’s been looking for one just like it.  And without even flinching, Windy takes the ring off and says, “Well, here you go.”
 
Just like that she handed the ring over like it was a piece of gum someone had asked for.  Needless to say, the girl was floored and I was blown away myself.  Later I asked my sister why she would just give the ring away when she had just bought it?  I have never forgotten her answer.
 
She said, “I just don’t want to be a person who values stuff more then I value people.” 
 
I was so impressed with what she said and I told myself I wanted to be that kind of person too, but sadly I let that valuable lesson fade.  And here I am (25 years later) trying to become the kind of person my twin sister was at the age of 16.
 
But it’s never too late to relearn an important lesson.  It’s never too late for personal growth and self-improvement!  There’s comes a point in everyone’s life when the light bulb comes on and we finally “get it”.  (Some of you will be 16 when that happens and some of us will be 41 – LOL!)
 
Sometime this week walk through your closet (or house) and ask yourself what could you walk away from.  Ask yourself what are you assigning meaning to and how attached are you to your possessions.   Would you be willing to just give it away if someone needed it?  I know it’s cliché to say, but do you own your stuff or does your stuff own you?