Finding Freedom From Fixtures

After recently taking a workshop with Marylee Fairbanks (http://maryleefairbanks.com/) I have decided to begin my own "24 Things" challenge (http://maryleefairbanks.com/24-things/). The rules are simple: each day for 24 days you let go of something that has been cluttering up your house, something that no longer serves you, objects that will be better suited at a yard sale, donation box, or in a trash barrel. During the 24 day release, one should only purchase necessities-- food, medical care, etc. All other material desires should be added to an ongoing list. If you are able to remember the items on your list at the end of the 24 days, then you are free to purchase them, otherwise they are likely to have been unimportant. According to Marylee, "The clutter in our house reflects the clutter in our hearts." Are we clinging to mementos of past relationships? Unwanted gifts that we were too polite to turn away? Clothes that haven't fit for years? Objects that no longer reflect who we are currently in this ever-changing body and mind of ours? Are the things we surround ourselves with keeping us rooted in the past, preventing us from blossoming into the future? In order to invite abundance into our lives, we must eliminate the unnecessary clutter that surrounds us.

Although Marylee recommends four cycles, corresponding to the four seasons, of 24 Things each year, the timing of her most recent workshop and the significance of this period in my own life could not have been better. I will be beginning my solitary 24 Things today, April 29th exactly one year after my (ex) husband told me he was moving out. In exactly 24 days I will turn 28 years old. I cannot think of a better way to mark the end of a year of transformation and to usher in another year of abundance, love, and gratitude for this life that constantly challenges and inspires me.

"One good thing to remember when clearing out is this: If you have an object that makes the past feel more important than the future then you should let it go. The past is gone. Your present is all that need be nourished." ~Marylee Fairbanks

Monday, May 20, 2013

Day 22: Home Phone

If you've ever tried to buy internet, TV, or home phone service independently, you probably discovered that internet is information superhighway robbery and cable and phone are usually just a few dollars extra when added to a package. When I first moved out with my husband, we got the internet and phone package since long distance calls home ate away at my prepaid phone minutes. Having a house phone meant telemarketers called daily to ask for donations, make sales, or conduct surveys.

If my husband was home, he took charge of answering the phone--my family only ever called on Sundays, his friends from around the world called at all hours, all days. My husband's short fuse was even shorter when it came to telemarketers. Rather than politely saying he wasn't interested and hanging up, he'd engage in a one-way yelling match with whoever was on the receiving end. He had trouble getting three words out without using some type of profanity and when the person on the receiving end would ask him not to swear it would only send them spewing out faster.

Once, I received a call to participate in a survey while he was at work. It was before I started going back to school full-time and was unemployed, so I looked forward to human interaction, even if it meant someone was trying to sell something I wasn't interested in or ask me random questions. When I agreed to the survey the person sounded surprised then said in a southern drawl, "You're a lot nicer than the man we talked to when we tried to call before." I finished the survey and agreed that they could send me a follow up questionnaire in the mail. The questionnaire came with $20 cash enclosed. Reparations for being married to such a maniac, I told my husband, who was not at all amused.

When we moved back to Massachusetts and got our own apartment neither of us was ever home long enough to warrant the use of a home phone, so the one pictured above was tucked into a closet with all of the other electronics I discarded last week. Unable to sell it at a yard sale this Saturday, I tucked it into the box of donations to be taken away by the Salvation Army to hopefully provide service to someone else.
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