This is going to sound crazy, but it’s true:
When I was on the streets, my best friends were not people. They were books.
Reading allowed me the chance to transport myself into different worlds. And they were safe. Reliable. My constant companions.
It might sound weird, but I am still very closely emotionally bonded to my books … even more so than people, sometimes.
And so I carried my books with me everywhere, for decades now: from Adelphi University to Ohio State University to Stanford University … throughout all the online courses, business development and leadership trainings … and during all of my spiritual growth.
Honestly, if my books could speak, they would tell you my history, because they’ve been there every step of the way. They are truly my most prized possessions. Like a security blanket, they comfort me. They are absolutely beautiful, and I love them.
I also know that it is time to get some closure on this season of my life, as I begin again in sunny San Diego, CA!
So, I decided to let go by giving. To confront my new reality, because as I mentioned in my last post, I have definitely been living in denial about starting my new life.
I had a Book / Packing Party, y’all. I gave away my most prized possessions.
Some went to colleges. Some to libraries. Some to shelters. Some to high schools.
My prayer is that, from those places, they go to the people who need them most, now. Maybe they’ll end up serving some little black girl out there who needs to be encouraged to be—and love!—herself. Maybe some will go to some budding business owner who doesn’t have the resources to invest in training. Maybe others will go to people ready and hungry for transformation. Maybe some to someone searching for God.
As for me, the party did exactly what I had hoped: it helped me complete this phase by GIVING. It helped me get complete in order to create. It was an, “Oh my God, I’m really doing this!” And I will tell you, it made everything very real.
I also think it did the same for everyone who joined me in person AND virtually. Because I asked people to complete a project WITH me, during that party. Some joined us and cleared out their closets, donating clothes. Others went through their shoes. Others re-organized cabinets. You get the idea.
Together, we let go of things we were holding onto that we didn’t need anymore, that could truly benefit someone else … and I believe what we did together will make a difference.
I also believe it was a healing experience.
It was my completion. Not just an end to an era … but a completion. And that distinction is SO important.
Did I cry?
Oh yes. I said goodbye to my lifelong “friends,” and I wept for them. The reality is that I let go of the very things that were hardest to surrender.
It was a purging of my soul.
I let go of the old, to make room for the new.
And it’s EXACTLY what I needed.
VenusOpal