Do-Gooder Therapy

I've been a Grumpy Bear lately.

Starting last Thursday, when I blogged about Josh, the days were gray and gloomy. I was sad about him, of course, but then I had a couple of 'not-good-but-not-necessarily-bad' things happen to me, and then Friday I found out I didnt get in to grad school. This, in effect, caused me to spiral into a whole "woe is me" mindset, in which i put myself and all my dreams down and made myself feel even worse. I had a little pity party.

Ok, so I'm pretty much over it now. I'm not entirely happy with the fact that I didn't get in but I'm trying not to dwell on it, and think positively. And *move on*.

One of the things I like to do that makes me feel good when I'm down is find something I can do to help others. Recently there was a fire that gutted an entire apartment complex, and the Salvation Army was asking for dishes. And I know I've got a ton.

Well, I have been thinking lately that honestly, I have so much stuff that we don't use, but there are so many people in our community who don't even have what they need. Why do I insist on having things I don't need? What is the point in living like that? It makes my life clutter-y. Sure, many of my items came from people I care about, but the items are NOT an extension of that person (usually, if you know what I mean...). Sure, I've got 20 pairs of shoes, and I generally wear most of them, but holding on to something because I "might use/wear it one day..." is really just selfish. Because there are people nearby who don't even have one pair of shoes.

Then I branched in to the line of thinking that I shouldn't need items to feel like I have a full and happy life. In fact, I think the LESS stuff I have, the better I will feel. And the thought of DONATING those items, instead of having a yard sale, and knowing that they will go to someone who NEEDS them, makes me feel happy.

So I called the Salvation Army lady, and told her I had some stuff she could pick up, and I went through my house and this morning, this is what I had gathered to donate. And I feel so much better.



So, while some people have Retail Therapy, I think I'm going to call this my Do-Gooder Therapy. Shopping will not be my release. Doing for others in need will be what I do when I need to feel better about life.