Most people have emotional souvenirs, whether they’re kids’ photos, heart-touching cards and letters, or heartfelt memorabilia. We sentimentally stash them in cardboard boxes, in looming file cabinets and photo albums, and on our phones, disks and “clouds.”
Like hoarders, we let emotional souvenirs increase until an impulse pushes us to anticipate relived endorphins. Time to reassess.
You should apply an emotional scale to each item: What memories are sparked? Are they warm? Kind? Is the item valuable, or is its onetime reminder enough? You’ll be startled by how many of your souvenirs have lost pungency and their heart’s value.
Then you tally each score and either retain or discard it. A waste basket is effective.
This culling of sentimental debris is useful. Our brief recall of good people and other events, before we may pull that plug, is an acknowledgement of how we often drift through our lives, how we view the choices posed and decisions made, and what legacy we will leave.
So, we shouldn’t fill the heart’s vault with fading, impotent debris. It can tarnish any prevailing contentment.
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