The Clearing

Recently, I’ve been going through about 15 boxes of paperwork from the past to cap it off and keep moving forward in my life. They were full of business records, portfolio samples, documents from when I cared for my Mom, old bank statements, etc. There were happy memories and sad ones. What ifs and nopes. These were the boxes I knew would be challenging to deal with on a number of levels, so I ignored them. But there’s a time to just do it – and I did! It was a BIG Reset Higher and it wasn’t just about the paper.

By finally facing and doing it, I learned some important lessons. Let’s think about them together because you may find insights you can use too.

This experience was like a replay of my own history, looking at the evidence of what I had spent years of my life doing. There were thousands of documents with my signature, confidential notes from client meetings, original artwork, etc., that had to be shredded and the rest recycled. I had to look through each box in detail and it took a long time. It was that process that brought back all sorts of memories and thoughts about my life.

With my own eyes, I saw the evidence of all the hard work, energy, time, and sacrifice that had gone into what that paper represented. I had made thousands of choices during that time. What did they teach me from my perspective looking back on them now? 

• Would I have done things differently? In some cases, yes!
• Would I have pulled the plug earlier in some situations and gone a different direction? Without hesitation looking back on it now.
• Would I have done more of some things and less of others? For sure.

As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. But instead of looking back and finding only the negative bits (we all have them), I gave myself some grace. There were even more positive things. Here’s one example. I had to go through a big folder containing the documents of a magazine project I did with my dear friends Diane (who passed away) and Michele. I was flooded with great memories and sadness at the same time. At that moment, I made the choice to think, “I’m so thankful we shared that experience together – and it was a great magazine too!” That was a healthy decision instead.

Here are a few more of the discoveries I’m still processing:

• I saw that I had the courage to take some risks and challenge myself to do the best with what I had to work with at the time. Entrepreneurship isn’t easy or for everyone. But It trained me.
• I learned about my strengths to build on and also things I can improve.
• It reminded me of a word we don’t use much: perseverance. Finishing a big job and not giving up can be life changing.
• I saw how God had been with me through all of those days and is with me still.

My boxes of paper from the past are really just a metaphor for anything that blocks our path forward that we don’t want to deal with. For me, I felt like I had paper-shredded my way through the jungle and reached a clearing. A place with more peace and relief from what I had been carrying. It’s done. For you, it may be facing past pain or abuse, or fears that paralyze you, or anything else – mental or physical – that is keeping you from living a good and healthy life. You already know what it is.

I love this verse written by the Apostle Paul in the Holy Bible from Galatians 5:1 (NIV):

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

As a believer, you can pray and ask God for His strength and wisdom to guide you through what’s holding you back from entering the clearing that is waiting for you. It will be worth it!

RESET HIGHER: Some things in your life may have happened because of your own choices and others by someone else’s you would have never chosen. Either way, today is the perfect day to take off the burden of “slavery” to what binds you. Set it down. Keep telling yourself what’s true. Do the work that needs to be done. Finish it and be free!