It is not because things are difficult that we do not
dare; it is because we do not dare that they are
difficult.
SENECABy tossing out the old and unworkable, we make way for
the new and suitable. A closet stuffed with ratty old clothes
does not invite new ones. A house overflowing with odds
and ends and tidbits you’ve held on to for someday has no
space for the things that might truly enhance today.
When the search-and-discard impulse seizes you, two
crosscurrents are at work: the old you is leaving and
grieving, while the new you celebrates and grows strong. As
with any rupture, there is both tension and relief. Long-
seated depression breaks up like an ice floe. Long-frozen
feelings thaw, melt, cascade, flood, and often overrun their
container (you). You may find yourself feeling volatile and
changeable. You are.
Be prepared for bursts of tears and of laughter. A certain
giddiness may accompany sudden stabs of loss. Think of
yourself as an accident victim walking away from the crash:
your old life has crashed and burned; your new life isn’t
apparent yet. You may feel yourself to be temporarily
without a vehicle. Just keep walking.
If this description sounds dramatic, it is only to prepare
you for possible emotional pyrotechnics. You may not have
them. Your changes may be more like cloud movements,