Day 10  - Detachment: Toss Something Out

In order to achieve a feeling of total security and total freedom, it is necessary to let go of our attachment to physical things. Detachment holds the wisdom of uncertainty and possibilities. When you embrace uncertainty, you will find security. When you embrace possibilities, you will find freedom. A simple first step toward detachment is letting go of small physical items. Let’s get started!

Today, get rid of one thing. It could be a pair of shoes, a knick-knack, or an old souvenir glass. Just pick one thing and give it away, recycle it, throw it away, or put it in the garage for a future “Give-Away Day” (see below for more on this idea). This physical action is a representation of clearing mental space for clear and creative thinking, and when made habit, can transform the way you interact with your physical and emotional environment profoundly. Think about the stuff you have that clutters your living space. Where to begin? Well, you could start a “five year rule” for clothing, for example. That’s an easy one: if you haven’t worn it for five years, you will definitely not miss it! Perhaps even a two-year rule? One year? Just because you haven’t exercised your throwing-away muscles in a while, doesn’t mean you can’t start somewhere … like with a coffee mug from the back of the cupboard. Don’t worry that it is in great condition or that you paid good money for it, it is the getting-rid-of energy that will be far more valuable to you, and the value will come back to you many fold.

As your physical space becomes more and more clear, you will find that previously cluttered areas give way to empty space, allowing for a mental shift from the focus of “what is” to the focus of endless possibilities. Your living space will become a blank canvas upon which anything can be created, in any moment.

De-cluttering feels like clearing your stuff, but it is actually clearing your mind. Jumbled, crowded thoughts will give way to clarity and focus. Creative energy will emerge in the space vacuum you have created for it. Your new thinking will have the room it needs to be powerful and inspiring!

A continuation of this exercise for the future is to have a “Give-Away Day.” Fill the garage bit by bit with all the stuff you have uncluttered through your new daily attitude of detaching. When it really starts to pile up, call your friends and invite them to come and get all your stuff. They will go crazy and really create a great memory for themselves and for you. Plus, the objects themselves will have a much more useful and vibrant life in their new home.

In detachment lies the wisdom of uncertainty, and in uncertainty lies freedom from our past: from the known. It is also where limitless possibilities are found. Stay open to the possibilities by manifesting an attitude of detachment in your physical environment today.

Simplicity is the most difficult thing to achieve in this world; it is the last limit of experience and the last effort of genius.

— George Sand

Excerpt from Extreme Thought Makeover, Rick Schaefer, M.D., RealityIs Press, 2010 www.rickschaefermd.com