Learning to live with less is one theme often cited as a lesson learned by walkers of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail across Spain. I agree. It is pretty amazing, and freeing, to live 30+ days with only what fits into a pack on your back. Who knew?

Well, I kind of knew. After my husband died in 2016, I moved halfway across the country, taking with me only what fit into my 4-door Sonata, plus a few boxes I had shipped ahead. I gave away most everything else. Some of it I sold in a yard sale. Or shall I say a friend sold for me in a yard sale. She organized and priced everything and took care of the money. That was good because as sales progressed throughout the day I became more and more emotional.

At one point I was walking through my dining room and saw an elderly Latina holding my white lace tablecloth, stretching it from the end of one arm to the other, nodding her head in approval.  “Noooooo!” I wanted to scream and yank it out of her hands. Instead, I ran to the back bedroom and took a deep breath as tears filled my eyes. The magnitude of it all hit me hard. All of my precious treasures. Not mine anymore.

“You don’t even have a table,” the Lord said to me, nudging me out of my despair. The humor, and the irony, shifted my attention. I laughed and I realized that this woman will take that tablecloth and cover her table. Family and friends will comment and admire it and she will beam with pride. It will have a good home where it is valued and appreciated. It’s a good thing. That was a turning point, and I was able to let go of that tablecloth and so much more.

Yes, it really is liberating to learn how little we do need. Sometimes it helps us to realign our life priorities, to recognize what is important and what is not. Maybe we learn to appreciate objects without having to own them.

Is it time for you to let go of anything that you’re holding on to? Something that may lighten your load and free you? Give you new perspective and hope?