Q. Why is it so damn hard to burn the old?

A. "I like the old stuff."

B. "It's part of who I am/was."

C. "Who will tell that story/share that knowledge if it vanishes?"

D. "I'm good at it."

E. "It's (still) important to me."

F. Something else.

My answer: A-E and probably F. (lol). One reason is not more valid for me than another. I don't know if I could choose just one if I was pressed. Here's what I do know:

I'm not a spare bedroom with two dressers and two closets. I have finite capacity. And like everything else, the old stuff takes space. Many interests and passions is FINE as long as I accept that I cannot do all of them at once.

I also know that I don't have to do anything with something that's important to me. I don't have to train on it, write about it or even talk about it. It can live in my heart and that's enough. Just because I am not producing something related to an idea, belief or practice doesn't make that value/belief/practice any less valuable.

What I am also learning is trust in what I cannot see. That people will come after me, for example, and pick up the thing that I started and run with it.

I'm good at a lot (event planning, catering) that I do absolutely nothing with. I also know a lot (Art History BA) that I do absolutely nothing with. It's okay. Those pieces are part of my past. They don't need to be actualized or even honored, frankly. Let it be enough that I know these things about me and let it not become things that I allow to define me simply because they are a skill.

Things that are important to us don't vanish. And they don't have to be burned down. They can linger in the world and become something for us to champion in others. They can also be knowledge that we share later. Or those Important Things can sit quietly, like a puzzle waiting its turn.

What about for you? Why is it so darn hard to burn the old? Leave a comment below.