Dismantling the Mountain

Sherry and Donna accompanied me to chemo today, which was a wonderful gift. Donna recently moved to a smaller house and she is struggling with how to fit her old house into her new house. We talked about downsizing and curating the memorabilia of our lives. How ironic that we spend the greater part of our adult lives assembling a mountain of things, only to see that we must dismantle it once our children have left, our health or finances have changed, our social circle has tightened. We are at once the curators of family heirlooms and keeper of family memories. We all seem to have an innate need to preserve our lives into the future, as if, by the presence of our stuff in other's lives, we can continue to live. What folly! Better to make the memory today, with the stuff of good conversation, coconut cream pie and coffee, and hugs. Stored in the very fiber of our souls, to sustain and cultivate friendships that are present every day, providing support to our lives. Dismantling the mountain of things, we find the best treasures, not in boxes, but in the love inside that puts joy in our hearts.