What to Let Go
/The month of June was full of old memories creeping up. That made me think about the balance between saving and letting go the tangible things that reminds us the past. Therefore, just like last month, I have a question for you… What to let go? What do YOU let go?
I am in a constant dilemma on what to save and what to let go of the items that matter to me. Pretty much my “things” have some sort of a story or a history. And that is why I save stuff like old ski passes or show tickets with the hopes of creating memory books in the future.
With COVID lock down, the first thing that I focused on was cleaning our downstairs room, which became our permanent office. I was truly impressed with myself when I let go of things that had sentimental value but no use. The amount of paperwork that I was able to recycle was amazing. Believe it or not, I still have my notebooks from college. I keep them because those represent my hard work through out those years, with my own hand writing even though they are completely useless. Sometimes, I find letters written to my parents, out of boredom in a lecture, that should not be thrown away. However, at the same time, I feel like I don’t have the energy to go through each page to find things to save. So I choose the easy way to save it all. The question is, if I don’t have the energy to go through each page to find something worthy, who will?
I also write diaries every day for my kids - one book per kid… Yes… with a pen and in a notebook! I can’t help to think if these notebooks will also become those items that they won’t know what to do in the future. However, at the same time, I want to believe that it will be special both for them and for me to read these diaries in the future. As I write each page, at the end of a long day, I realize that what I remember from that day is usually the heart warming stuff. Our minds make sure that we build good memories to pass along…
As I try to find the fine balance between saving and letting go, I try to pass that thinking to the kids too. That’s when I see the HUGE personality difference between the two - one is as attached to “things” as I am and the other cares less about them. For Ela, a pretty flower on the side of the street can easily make her forget about a stuffy that she carries every where with her. She can even exchange that stuffy for a flower. For Kaya, on the other hand, there are stories and memories associated with each of his toys and it would be the hardest thing for him to apart ways with any of his “things”. Could this dilemma be related to the personality too? (Most likely…)
Mom and son walk on a super clear day - memorIes from june
Now let’s get to the fun part, the workout…. I would like you to grab a pencil. I will have three moves for you that will require that pencil.
Pencil Squat Pulses - place the pencil in between your two feet and then come down to a narrow squat. Please make sure that knees do NOT move in front of your toes. Hold down for two counts and then come up to straight. Continue with the pulse for 30 seconds.
Elbow Plank pencil roll on Right - come down to an elbow plank position (you can be on your knees) and place the pencil under right hand. Roll the pencil out forward and back. Continue with the right hand rolling for 30 seconds.
Elbow Plank pencil roll on Let - come down to an elbow plank position (you can be on your knees) and place the pencil under left hand. Roll the pencil out forward and back. Continue with the right hand rolling for 30 seconds.
Standing up pencil rubbing - stand up and extend arms forward with the pencil in between the palms of each hand. Make sure that the arms are straight in front and parallel to the floor. Start rubbing the pencil back and forth inside the palms (as if you will light a fire using friction). Continue for 30 seconds.
Repeat it all, for total of 4 rounds, and then write yourself a note that you will read in a year! ;)
Memories are to keep it in our heads forever. Let’s figure out what we can release back to the earth without impacting those wonderful memories.
Give me a high five with those pencils that will build a new memory for you! :)
Sometimes a photo is all we can have
Kaya’s art wiTh him the whole time
