I thought about buying a bunch of storage boxes and just filling them with all things “relocation” and stacking them in the basement as “archives.” Archives for what? For what purpose would that serve to have that stuff hanging around? A reminder of the good old days? Maybe. Validation? Probably. But what I soon realized was that, although everything surrounding my former business was positive, it was having an extremely negative effect on my current life and my current business. My current success is dependent on my productivity and my creativity—both of which are being squelched by the current state of my office. I called my husband for one final objective (or maybe not so objective) opinion on what I should do. He asked a very important question that almost made me smack my forehead as if I could have had a V8. “Do you have electronic copies of your work saved?” Of course I do … they are all saved on storage discs I created when I changed laptops. ”Then dump the paper!” I took a deep cleansing breath and dove in.
It was amazing looking at my life’s work—from where it started to where it ended. I reminisced over projects. I laughed at how primitive my methods were in the early days. I marveled in how I was able to go out on a high note, still occasionally receiving a call—“Are you sure you don’t want to take on just one more project?” One by one I kissed them goodbye and it felt good to see them go with grace and dignity. I realized that I was not only purging files and clutter, I was purging my heart and soul—letting go of the old to make room for the new. I could feel the restoration to normal emerging with every bag of trash removed!
I looked around and saw that I had only made a small dent in the chaos and I probably had another couple of days’ worth of work to do. Ordinarily, I would have been discouraged to continue but I now had the clarity and presence of mind to get it done. I have faith that my office will be restored to its Mission Organization glory. Wish me luck!
