Stuff

Stuff:  miscellaneous belongings that have been deemed so useful that they can't be tossed.  But not useful enough to know exactly what to do with it.

We have a lot of stuff.  I come by it naturally.  I've always been around a lot of stuff.  My parents had a lot of stuff.  And they still have a lot of stuff.   Most of my nine siblings have a lot of stuff. I don't really like stuff.  It encumbers my life.  I feel weighed down with so much stuff around me.  I have to take care of the stuff.  And then the stuff gets all mixed up in the wrong places.  Sometimes I can't figure out where to put my stuff.  So it collects into an active volcano of stuff.  It seems benign, quiet, and inactive until seemingly out of the blue, something unexpected happens and the volcano erupts and oozes stuff over everything in sight.  And then I ask myself how that small pile contained so much ooze of stuff?

Here's a quandry... when one has lived with stuff their entire life, how can one truly comprehend that it encumbers their life?  How can one know the weight of something they've always carried?  Well, I don't think they really can.  So, it has to be an act of trust to follow through on an idea to rid oneself of some stuff.  So, that's what I've done.  I've started getting rid of my stuff.  The lifted weight has FAAAAR ourweighed the actual stuff that got tossed or given away.  Amazing, really.

Well, that was years ago.  And I'm still getting rid of stuff.  It's not that I have that much.  Wait, who am I kidding?  I've got lots of stuff.  The trouble is that I have these relapses when I forget how much I abhore stuff, and I accumulate more stuff.  As far as stuff elimination goes, other people's stuff is the worst!  I really like having an item in my home that brings memories of that person into my current life.  I really do look at or use that item and think kind thoughts of them.  But, the cost is high.  I've ended up with FAR more than I ever dreamed useful, of other people's stuff.  You can't just inherit one special item.  The distributer of other people's stuff needs to, well... distribute it.  So, they give it to you, as a sweet gift of love from the dearly departed, etc.  How can you say no thank you to the grieving distributer?  You can't.  Well, I can't.  So I have lots of other people's stuff.  (Not to be confused with stuff that belongs to lots of other people.  It's the stuff that is a lot, not the people.)  I've been going through it from time to time for years.  Please.  Nobody die or move away.  I don't need to go through more stuff!

And speaking of stuff.  I'm getting rid of emotional stuff as well.  Amazing how much that stuff weighs.  The details of that can't be disclosed here.  But it's been heavy.  And here's the kicker about that.  With all the talking the talk about letting go, forgiving, and loving one another, I think we do a pretty poor job of actually walking the walk.  But not for lack of desire.  It's more a lack of practical application.  How exactly does one let go, forgive, and love?  So that has been my quest.  To figure out exactly how.  To figure out what it looks like from the outside and from the inside.  The wonderful news is that I'm figuring it out, with a lot of help from my Father in Heaven.  And here is what I've learned: 

I'll personalize it because it's so very real to me.  But I think all these things apply to you too.  Maybe something here will be of use to you.

• Emotions and feelings are not the same.
• It's not good to live in the world of my emotions.
• The adversary would have me do that.
• Satan has lots of input to emotions, that's why they are not trustworthy.
• After listening to the adversary, the difference between personal thoughts and adversarial thoughts gets really muddy.
• A confusion of these two types of thoughts leads to confusion about who I really am.
• Heavenly Father has never lost track of who I really am.
• I am eternally grateful for that fact.
• When one is lost, it's so tempting to look to others to correct the sail.
• As a matter of fact, we are taught to do so.  Unwisely, I might add.
• Other people are not trustworthy either.  Even if they love you dearly. 
• Because they tend to listen to the adversary too!
• And even if they didn't, how would you know that?  For SURE.
• Heavenly Father is the only one who IS trustworthy.
• He can remind me of who I am in ways that are profound and amazing.
• He couches the message with memories of experiences from our own lives.
• We lived it so we can understand it.
• I love my Heavenly Father.
• Thanks for the memories.  :)

Question: 

How do you let go, forgive, and/or love others?  Really, like what do you actually say, do, or think?