Living With Less: Guilt

Here's something I think we all have a lot of (and that we could do with a lot less of):

Guilt.

I have a lot of guilt.  Maybe it's just me.  But I don't think it is.  


On any given day I may feel guilty about any/all of the following:

• Not making the bed
• Not reading my scriptures as I eat breakfast
• Not exercising
• Not waking up early to read scriptures while I eat breakfast and to exercise
• Not reading ten million books with Olivia
• Not helping Olivia play with her toys
• Spending too much time on the computer
• Not spending enough time doing "important" things
• Not bothering to look my best
• Not cooking "real" meals
• Staying up too late
• And so much more

The truth is, even if I made perfect meals and read books with Olivia for an hour a day and taught her latin and we baked cookies together and I sat perfectly attentive while Bryan told me about his day at school and I woke up at 6am to go running and study the scriptures... I would still find things to feel guilty about.  It's kind of a part of life.  You know, that whole "striving to be better" part.  In my own personal views, I think that--while it does cause stress--there's something fundamental and Divine about guilt.  It has a purpose, I guess, is what I'm trying to say.

But.

There are some things we should not have to feel guilty about.  I am now going to officially relieve myself and all of you from feeling guilty about all the following from now until the end of time and beyond:

• Getting rid of presents that someone you love gave to you... that you don't like and/or you'll never use or enjoy.
• Getting rid of something you once paid money for.
• Getting rid of something that you might wish you had again someday.
• Getting rid of your kids' toys.
• Throwing away socks with holes.
• Throwing away the perfectly good sock the was the match to the sock with the hole in it.
• Throwing away tights/nylons with holes.
• Getting rid of dishes/kitchenware you hate.
• Throwing away old dumb pictures.
• Throwing away old rolls of film.
• Getting rid of superfluous amounts of your kids' art work.
• Getting rid of old birthday/wedding/baby/etc. cards
• Getting rid of old letters.
• Getting rid of things that are/were sentimental, but at some point got mold or some sort of goo or similarly gross substance on them and now they're just an icky mess that nobody wants to touch.

Have something else in mind that you wish you could get rid of, but you know that the inevitable guilt would ensue?  I officially relieve you of your guilt about that too.

Feel better?

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See the entire Living With Less series HERE.