Hidden Treasures

SPRING... It’s the season of new birth, and yet it also seems to be a time of transitioning for many of our friends and loved ones. How does one deal with the emotional losses? What remnants do we hold onto and what do we release to be born again?

The word remnants brings to mind bolts of coloured cloth - well not bolts exactly - more like bits and pieces. Hence I am reminded of a story/concept worth sharing.

A while ago, my friend invited me to meet her close circle of friends for a clothing exchange and giveaway. Our common bond was a mutual affection for a friend who had passed over. She was a yogi type and made her own clothes. We raced past a few introductions on the porch and plopped down our potluck food, then up the stairs to the loft. There the giggling got louder as about twenty women tried on her creations. Friends had seen her wear many costumes over the 50 odd years that she was on this earth. This was an event!

I think she would have been smiling at the positions and shapes these women took as they jostled for space in front of the one and only full-length mirror. It was like a painting of abundance itself. Short ones, dark ones, long hair and blonds, 22 year olds, 55 year olds, the mix smiled at each other and commented with ‘wow-that-looks-great-on-you’, and, ‘Let-meeee-try-it-on’. Some sat on bench seats watching the piles shift and fall and come back alive. Oh what a gift, I thought. Clothes coming to life again.

Looking in the mirror trying to get a corner to peek in was like viewing the complexities of stained glasswork. Peering over shoulders, one could see legs and feet in the woman's shoes as the reds, jingles of belly-dancer-golds, knits, hats and stockings lightened and brightened blues and greens. Many of these wonderful women who were strangers seconds before, were now celebrating, just as our mutual friend would have wished us to do. It took my breath away! It was the essence of sharing that touched me. A willingness and opportunity to let these creations come alive again. I sometimes relive the scene, as one does with a favourite movie.

Today, Spring is the platform beneath our feet and Summer is fast approaching. Two seasons where LIGHTness is the order of the day. Lightness of spirit but also as in lightening one’s load. What if, I wondered, we could radiate as much joy by passing on hobby items and other ‘stuff’ that lay in packaging in disarray behind our closet doors? No doubt we all have friends or acquaintances that could use our hidden treasures. What if we invited them over for an exchange night of laughter and free shopping? A party where people bring something they’ve bought and never used. They could also trade time for cooking meals and tending little ones for the treasures. Cash would not be the currency of the evening. Even better, what if we hung our unused garments on the clothesline - easy to see, colours waving in the wind - even easier for a friend to pick off!

Some people get an adrenalin rush from the idea of shopping. I get one from giving away items I value. I think the energy we shift by changing the way we look at what we possess will also help heal Mother Earth.

 

Janit Bianic is a Clutterbuster and proponent for nurturing the land together as a family. She is also a life coach and videographer. Contact her at  www.missclutterbuster.ca
email: janitb@mars.ark.com

 

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