Cleaning out and Starting Anew

Today was a long, hard day. Mini me and I spent a few hours going through things of his mother's from hospice. You know the little stuffed animals he got her, or the character themed teddy bears he got her for special occasions. All told it was a cathartic experience, but mini me handled it well.

There were somethings he wants to keep. To put in a memory box so that he can remember his mom. The other things we decided we will take to a homeless shelter for families. Perhaps the joy his mom obtained from receiving can be continued through other families less fortunate than my own.

It got me thinking though,  we all go through cathartic events which require us to examine life, clean out the negative influences and start anew. It's never an easy thing though, the letting go of the past. Partly because the past defines who we are. More importantly though, it's because there is so much tied into it: our hopes, dreams, aspirations, fears, regrets and the ilk. 

Perhaps the hardest part is is looking back and seeing those we thought close to us, were in fact little more than a negative influence. To be sure there are good memories which come to mind when we think of them, but on the whole, the influence was negative. By negative I take it to mean, they did not help us to become a better person. Aren't our true friends the ones who make us better? Who understand us and the why's and how's of our though processes? 

Sorting through these myriad issues can be difficult in the best of times. Add in mini me and it's a variable which must be considered. I can honestly state though, he teaches me more than I teach him. His resilience is something of which I am envious. 

Most importantly though, today taught me that the past is the past. We need to let it go in order to move forward. Life does not have a reverse gear in it.