Can I Let It Go?

If you have seen the movie Frozen, you are aware of the song "Let It Go," a beautiful song beautifully sung by the beautiful Idina Menzel. This song is one that stays in your head, and you find yourself singing it over and over until you either hate it or are inspired by its message. 

Honestly, I've experienced both. 

Over the years, I've had to let go of lots of items such as toys, clothes, books, etc. When I moved from a house I had lived in for 25 years, I gave away tons of stuff. Most material possessions can be replaced, so cutting loose from them is not so hard. Maybe that ease of replacement is why I look around me now and see tons of new stuff that somehow gathered in my house over the past ten years. 

I've also gotten rid of people such as the bad, toxic former friends or spouses. I admit that it takes me longer to get rid of people than it does material possessions. I guess that's why I stayed in a really sucky marriage for way too long. 

In my most recent quest to let something go, I decided to start small by cleaning out my email inboxes, a task which at first really frightened me. I have three email accounts -- work, old personal and new personal. My work email had messages dating back to 2008, and my old personal had some over ten years old. My new personal account is only three years old so I'm not as attached to it, but how could I let go of all of those contacts, important messages, memories from long-gone friends? 

At first, I looked through all of the messages to see what was important and filed those into digital folders, but I soon realized that task was too big. I then asked myself how often I used any of those old emails. Also, I realized that most of the emails stay around in the cloud or somewhere because I can search for them and they magically appear. Therefore, I went cold turkey, hit the Empty-Your-Inbox tab and just like that, everything was gone. I even got an encouraging message and smiley face. 

The email purge took place about a month ago, and I've worked hard to keep everything cleared out. It's like a game I play every day to decide what is truly important and what can go. I take to heart the lines from the lyrics of "Let It Go" -- I'm never going back. The past is in the past. 


I really enjoy the emptiness of that inbox because, to tell the truth, it's the only thing on my desk that is free of clutter. I have my stacks of papers, my books, my scattered pens and pencils, my very cold cup of coffee, etc. The clutter may change from day to day, but it's still there most of the time. 

I stand by the old saying that I know where everything is on my desk, but actually, that's not true anymore. With my advanced age, I can't remember where I left something if I put it down. Sometimes I look at an item I'm holding in my hand and wonder why it's there. 

In my defense, I use the following statement by Albert Einstein:

My next Let-It-Go project -- my closet. If you have any helpful advice or an encouraging song, please let me know. If you saw my closet, you'd know that I need a lot of help. 

I can't think of any people I want to get rid of. At least not at this moment, but give me a minute. I'm sure there are a few.