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Puzzles: (Mentioned else-LJ, then brought here.)
On Sunday I went through six boxes of mechanical puzzles -- you know, get the ring off the rope, get the chain untangled from the horseshoes, assemble a cube from these fifteen pieces, that kind of thing. I set aside as many of those puzzles for freecycling as I could manage. I think I kept about half, although they're the larger ones; I'm only down to four boxes. I'll do another pass later.
Labels:
The hard part of letting go wasn't that I loved each individual puzzle. The hard part was that I loved my image of myself as a person who enjoys puzzles and owns many fun puzzles. It was that self-image I was letting go of as I set aside each puzzle. It's hard to let go of a cherished label I have put on myself.
On the other hand, I find it easy to pick up new labels for myself. Because labels can come with a lot of physical baggage, I guess I've got to learn to let go of the ones I no longer need.
What labels are you holding on to? Do you add new ones easily? Do you let go of old ones easily?
If I had been asked a week ago "What would it take for the label lover-of-puzzles-and-owner-of-many-fun-puzzles to no longer fit you?" I would have said "I'd have to not be me any more." Today I say "Heh, all it took was needing some shelf space." I wonder how many more like that I've got. They can be hard to see.
Decluttering in passes:
Often I can get rid of half of a pile, or perhaps a third of a pile, in an hour. Often it would take me all day to get rid of three-quarters of that same pile. So I'll do the half and let it sit for a few weeks.
I am currently due for new passes on jigsaw puzzles, clothing, old techie books, and believe it or not, shoes. (Hey, those can be hard to let go of. It took me fifteen years to find hiking boots that fit. If a miracle occurs, I don't want to spend another fifteen years in bad boots.)
On Sunday I went through six boxes of mechanical puzzles -- you know, get the ring off the rope, get the chain untangled from the horseshoes, assemble a cube from these fifteen pieces, that kind of thing. I set aside as many of those puzzles for freecycling as I could manage. I think I kept about half, although they're the larger ones; I'm only down to four boxes. I'll do another pass later.
Labels:
The hard part of letting go wasn't that I loved each individual puzzle. The hard part was that I loved my image of myself as a person who enjoys puzzles and owns many fun puzzles. It was that self-image I was letting go of as I set aside each puzzle. It's hard to let go of a cherished label I have put on myself.
On the other hand, I find it easy to pick up new labels for myself. Because labels can come with a lot of physical baggage, I guess I've got to learn to let go of the ones I no longer need.
What labels are you holding on to? Do you add new ones easily? Do you let go of old ones easily?
If I had been asked a week ago "What would it take for the label lover-of-puzzles-and-owner-of-many-fun-puzzles to no longer fit you?" I would have said "I'd have to not be me any more." Today I say "Heh, all it took was needing some shelf space." I wonder how many more like that I've got. They can be hard to see.
Decluttering in passes:
Often I can get rid of half of a pile, or perhaps a third of a pile, in an hour. Often it would take me all day to get rid of three-quarters of that same pile. So I'll do the half and let it sit for a few weeks.
I am currently due for new passes on jigsaw puzzles, clothing, old techie books, and believe it or not, shoes. (Hey, those can be hard to let go of. It took me fifteen years to find hiking boots that fit. If a miracle occurs, I don't want to spend another fifteen years in bad boots.)
Re: labels = identities?
Yes. And there might be some other "parts" (meanings, implications) to each of these things, too. FOR EXAMPLE "hiker" might (or might not) include "I'm a person who loves nature" or "I'm a person who enjoys being outdoors" or "I enjoy seeing many kinds of landscapes" or "I'm a naturalist" or "I study and observe nature".... (For some it could include much more specific stuff about KINDS of places to see [redwoods, seashore] and KINDS of things in nature [wild animals, bugs, birds, flowers, whatever and KINDS of things to know.....]. "Hiker" could also include "I'm a person who enjoys visiting local places" or "I like to see natural landscapes wherever I go". "Hiker" could involve knowing how to pack a lunch, read a trail map, use a compass. Hiker likely includes "I have seen many beautiful natural places" and "I know many parks and open areas locally". I suppose "hiker" could also involve things like deep inner connection to nature, environmental views, love of wilderness (because it is wild), political views, preference for open undeveloped space.....
All of those can be expressed, and can be parts of one's self-concept. Some could inspire other labels or be reconfigured in terms of focus.
"Hiker" also involves some parts that you can't do (at least right now), like walking long distances over various kinds of natural terrain. Here the options I can think of are: you can drop this part from your idea-of-yourself, or you can refine the idea as being temporary or past ("I'm a hiker who is unable to hike" or "I'm not a hiker right now"). Or you can change the meaning of HIKE to include walking small distances in various natural settings. Or it could mean being someone who really VALUES hiking as a form of movement, which I would guess still applies to you. I'm not sure how far I would want to go in the "redefining it" thing -- I'm more comfortable with the stuff in the 1st paragraph.
"Hiker" also involves many experiences you have had. Certainly you should still "get credit" for having seen beautiful places, having climbed mountains, walked long distances, seen snakes, carried everything you need with you -- and for knowing the landscapes of many places, for having been to hiking spots locally and appreciating such things..... I'm sure there is much more......