Are you worried about becoming a Spiritual Pack Rat?
I use to feel that in order to be Spiritual, I needed to have all kinds of magical spiritual items in order to worship. I read about spells that require a laundry list of items and spell bottles for everything and it makes me nervous to do them for fear of acquiring mounds and boxes upon boxes full of used and unused magical items.
There was a time when I would buy every item that spoke to me and every spiritual book that spoke to me that I could get my hands on and refused to let any of it go even if it was used or turned out to be something that I wasn’t really interested in. I also had a hutch full of dried herbs and concoctions for beauty, health, and spirituality.
My fiancé kept saying to me, “I know you love your herbs, but don’t you think you can get rid of some?” or “I never see you use your herbs, could we get rid of them?” I would freak out on the inside every time he said something, and respond with a quick, “I use them while you’re at work, that’s why you don’t see me use them. And I use them when I’m sick.” That was only half true. I do use my herbs every time I’m sick and have a selection of herbs for tea and oils specifically to ease the pain of cramps and PMS.
Other than that, I hardly ever used them. At the time I wasn’t actively and consistently practicing my spirituality except for when my fiancé was out of town for work. We have been so busy with work and travel that when we finally found time to relax the last thing I wanted to do was gather a bunch of items let alone write a ritual however elaborate or simple. It was time for me to weed out the items to save myself from becoming a Spiritual Pack Rat.
How did I get rid of my stuff?
I finally had to force myself to assess the situation. Some of it was indeed junk and was no longer useful in my life. So I asked myself for every single item, “Am I IN love with it? Will I actually use it on the path that I’m on?” A lot of things didn’t make the cut. I sold some of the books online that my friends didn’t want. Gave items away to those who needed it or made gifts out of the items. I also forced myself to use the items that I had more often, either in spiritual practices or décor in our home. And be rid of the rest.
Life is a constant editing process. The best piece of advice I have give you is, when one new item comes in, one old one should go out; And that you should only keep or buy what you are IN love with, never settle for less no matter the sale price you find it at or who gave it to you.
