With our house sold and packing upon us, we are fielding questions everyday from everyone we encounter. The most typical question is "where are you going and what are you going to do for work?" Of course they are the most valid questions any rational person would be asking in the next breath after first hearing that we sold our house, but we are less concerned about that as we are in trying to keep focused on why we are doing this in the first place.
We have been spending most of our time this year talking to friends, family and the occasional "random stranger at a deli counter" to gain insight on lessons these people have learned in their lives, decisions they regret, and hearing stories about some of the best moments of their lives. I could write an entire novel on the wisdom we have collected in such a short time and we are hungry to hear more from anyone willing to sit and chat with us. I will probably write more about those stories another time, but in short summary, a lot of what we heard was about the importance of family, regrets over missed opportunities, and lessons that were learned the hard way. Every person has said how they want what is best for his or her family, and the biggest hurdle most families face right now is financial debt. This hit home for my husband and I because we have been aggressively tackling this over the past few years. Like most, we had school loans, car loans, mortgage payments, you name it and little by little became debt free... except for our home. Selling our beautiful home as been an idea we have tossed around for over a year and now that the process is almost complete, we are excited to start feeling completely debt-free. As I write this, I tred lightly because we are very sensitive to understand that most people are not at this stage in life yet (but I have faith you too can be more financially free!) There are millions of resources out there on how to get to this point, but very few on what to do once you are debt-free... and that's where we will be as soon as we hand over our house keys to a new couple.
When people question us about where our next house or job will be, it seems to be the kind of questions in our old burdened way of thinking. Now that we are free to go anywhere or do anything, the questions for us is becoming less "what can we get rid of?" and turning more into "what else can we GIVE? How can we now be GENEROUS will all the blessings we have had in our lives?" Now those are the questions that excite us more then just "where are you going?what are you going to do?"! (Of course there is a select few items like some furniture or TVs that we will sell to relieve the burden from us transporting or storing too.)
As we are beginning to create bags and bags worth of things to donate to charity, we are feeling more and more free from the bondage that comes with owning stuff which can weigh you down. Less clothes means wearing the outfits you feel best in and in return, clothing others who might not be so fortunate. Baby items that are going completely unused in our basement storage would better benefit a young mother or couple. And I know we're not perfect because donating everything seems a little extreme for us right now. But knowing that by listing our amazingly comfortable deep couches for sale will mean not only do I not need to store them, but they will go to a good home where another family will enjoy spending time together and make memories in their family room too! (But oh how I think I miss those couches already! Developing a more generous spirit will be a growing experience.)
