Sorting Through Stuff - Of Objects and People

Yesterday, I numbered all of my file boxes and containers in my storage unit, taking inventory, to figure out how many I need to sort through per day over the next month (or so), in order to get all of this work done before I go on my bike trip. I noticed that once I did this, once these boxes and containers became "merely numbers" to me, my emotional attachment immediately started to shift, as in dissipate.

Don't know why, but my mind went immediately to the "numbering" of the Jews in the Nazi concentration camps, and the dehumanization/objectification of people wherever they are identified with numbers. I also couldn't help but recognize that I tend to have a lot of "emotional attachment" to "things". That is partly why I have hung on to so many of my "things" for so long. In contrast, I've had to learn to "let go of" people, over and over again in my life.

Clearly, it is not as easy to hold on to people. They do not simply sit on shelves like things do. They have their own will, their own volition, and their own life-spans, and these may not always coincide with "me" and "my desires." I learned this lesson fairly early in my life. The reason why my "turtle" is "blue" is because of Sting's Dream of the Blue Turtles album, and, specifically, the song "If You Love Someone, Set Them Free." Now I'm wondering if I I should learn to relate the same way to my "things" - i.e. if I "love someThing" I should also "set it free". Gonna have to think about that a little more. : )

Although, another scene comes to mind from the movie "Harold and Maude" with Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort. They are sitting next to a body of water and Harold gives Maude a coin he has mechanically impressed at a carnival with the words "Harold Loves Maude". She receives the coin graciously saying it is "One of the nicest gifts [she's ever been given]" (or something like that : )). And then, she tosses it into the water, much to Harold's surprise. She turns to him and says: "That way, I'll always know where it is."

I don't think I'm quite there yet, but ever since I first saw this movie, I have admired the spirit of the "Old Crone" embodied in the character of "Maude", and hope that, as I continue to grow older myself, I will become more like her..."in my own, individual way."

In the end - as in - when we die - we have to be ready to "let go of Everything" anyway. I can see it as a wise discipline to "practice" that "letting go" throughout our lives so when that day comes, we'll be more ready for it.

And who knows? Maybe those "connections" we share with people through-out our lives do persist, on some level, beyond our physical lives and awareness, whereas, our connections with "things"...not so much. So why invest so much love and energy into "things", when we really should be making those investments with the people/souls with whom we may be sharing multiple lifetimes?