I'm Movin' Out!- A shift in mindset...

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."

Moving is never easy to do. It is often the climax of a change in ones life. As humans, we tend to strongly dislike change, ourselves included. 

Our apartment was taken over by boxes, bins, and the accumulation of "things" that had taken place over a period of time. You find yourself making piles of clothes titled toss, donate, and storage. Well this time was a bit different for us. We had 4 piles. Toss, donate, storage, and trip! It was tough deciding what clothes made the cut for our 6+ month journey but we found a way. As the movers took all of our "things" away this morning, I thought back to the notion of accumulation of things. How is that we acquire so many items of furniture, clothing, books, DVDs, etc? I believe we hold onto things for their sentimental meaning. Not so much for the value of the item itself, but more for what that item reminds us of, a time or moment, or memory we want to hold with us. 

As those boxes went down the elevator from our 12th floor apartment, I couldn't help but think of the change we were about to experience. The lifestyle we agreed to take on. This was it, there is no going back, we are off to travel the world. The symbolism of putting all of our "things" in a storage facility, ending the lease of the place we called home, and leaving our car behind, hit me. We had made a decision that many are not brave enough to do. We made the decision to give up our material things for a dream.

This was not easy for us to do! We love our home that we created together, the area, the building. We were comfortable with our "things", our comfy couch, a bed we can sink into, and our flat screen TVs. We were familiar with the area, the streets, the cities, proximity to our families. But life isn't about settling for "being comfortable" or "playing it safe." Sometimes its about taking risks, going outside that comfort zone, and possibly finding something out there you like more (that you may have never thought you would have enjoyed). 

Our pet plant Andy. (Named after Pettitte of course)

Turning in the keys

We literally traded all of our "things" for all the experiences, memories, and perspective we are about to gain on this journey ahead of us. When we leave this world it is those experiences, memories, and perspective that you take with you, not your "things." 

Our first home together. Goodbye 1212! You were a great home!

We are happy with our decision, regardless of how our trip goes, because we were brave enough to make the decision in the first place. Its already worth it.

We are ready!

 We felt that Billy Joel's, "I'm movin' out" was perfect for the obvious reasons of our move. But it also questions the value of material things, appropriate for our feelings right now. If you have never paid attention the lyrics, give them a listen and read... 

"Is that all you get for your money?"