Inspired by Giving Away Pain

Every once in a while, I get these notices in the mail from non-profit organizations announcing their arrival in my neighborhood on a certain day to pick up anything I wish to donate. This is very convenient but I tend to forget and miss those pick-up days. Then it became apparent that my back room was filling up fast with things I intended to donate someday. Some non-profits are very particular about what they will and will not accept as donations. Not the Veterans group that came by, their flyer basically read: “don’t throw it away - give it to us!”

To be honest, this has always been a dilemma for me. Is this acceptable? Should I throw this away or donate it? Sometimes, it is too overwhelming. With this stress off my plate, I felt free to go through and donate everything I hadn’t used or didn’t want anymore. I started opening boxes in the garage and realized another reason why I had been putting this off. Pain. Inside those old boxes held memories which were very painful to revisit. I imagine this was most of my problem, avoiding dealing with the pain.

As I built my pile on the sidewalk in front of my house, I began to get filled with energy. After each trip to the sidewalk, I almost felt lighter. These items still held value but to me they were taking up space and reminding me of years best forgotten. When the truck pulled up, I was so excited. I knew these items were gone forever. As the truck left, I never felt so free. I smile as all that pain now gets to be a tax write-off next year. It’s about time that pain started paying me back!