I share my simplicity stories and what happened before I decided to simplify in my new book Soulful Simplicity. I also share other meaningful stories. This one really grabbed my heart. I’ve shared this story during live events and I can never get through it without a few tears.
Krissy’s simplicity story
My friend Krissy, a development leader for big nonprofits, has saved every birthday card, wedding invitation, Christmas card, and birth announcement she has ever received. When her dad died unexpectedly from complications of heart surgery when she was twenty-six and her mom died eight years later after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer, Krissy’s box of cards became filled with more cards from the funerals and other things her parents left behind.
When she began to declutter, she started with her boxes of saved cards. “The funny thing is that they were just sitting in a box in my closet. I never looked at them or read them,” she says. She decided to read through all of the cards one last time and then let them go, with the exception of two birthday cards—one from her mom and one from her dad. She forgot they were there, so it was a moving surprise to find them as they both included touching, handwritten messages. She now keeps both cards in her nightstand drawer.
By getting rid of the hidden boxes, she made room for the love that her parents shared with her in those notes and was able to deal with some of the grief that she hadn’t known how to process when she was younger. She treasures the words and enjoys knowing that they are close to her heart.
What I love about Krissy’s story is how it not only demonstrates the power of letting go but reminds us that by holding on to everything, it’s hard to remember what matters. When everything is important, nothing is. Krissy let go and traded her grief for love.