Today was the day. I parted ways with the “glass flower,” a wedding gift from my Aunt Tonya over 20 years ago. I am sure you have all been waiting impatiently by your computers in anticipation, lying awake at night wondering how I ended up parting ways with the unused piece. Did anyone at my networking meeting fall in love and want it? Did I end up taking it to Goodwill to be sold for $3.98 next to other unwanted china? Let your curiosity be satisfied – the glass flower is gone.
Nervous and anxious I walked into my networking meeting this morning. I was having second thoughts: “it’s such a nice piece. What if I have a use for it in the future? What if my Aunt Tonya ever asks about it? No, get it together – you can do this. Walk the talk. This is what you make your clients do all the time. You should do this to be able to relate to the difficult experience that is letting go of something.” Back and forth this dialogue continued in my head. I entered the meeting and took a seat at the table, placing the bag filled with the glass flower on the floor, hidden from sight.
As the meeting began I asked if I could share something with the group that had been weighing on my mind. With this, I began sharing the story of this glass flower: it had been given to me by my Aunt Tonya as a wedding gift and was a truly beautiful piece, however, it did not match my home’s décor and I didn’t have a place for it. In the spirit of relating clearly what I request of my clients, I had decided to get let it go– bringing it first to this meeting, and if no one absolutely loved it, then taking it to Goodwill. Before anyone else had the chance to express interest, not even four adjectives into describing the piece, a woman’s hand shot up. She explained how she collects glass items exactly like the one I was describing and how much she would love the flower and give it a good home.
Well that was easy. Still, I felt a little uneasy. As I left group, I had thoughts of calling her up and saying I needed it back. The emotional attachment and guilt I felt regarding this item was stronger than I could have anticipated. With this said, I remained strong and stuck with my original plan of parting ways. Saying goodbye to sentimental items is truly an emotionally arduous process. However, when done with good intentions, in the name of minimizing, I do still believe it is beneficial to one’s life overall.
To my Aunt Tonya, if you’re reading this: thank you for everything. Not just the glass flower (being the incredibly thoughtful and beautiful gift that it was) but also for teaching me so much throughout the years – including, but certainly not limited to this recent lesson in letting go. Much love.
