A Simple Path: Journey of a Hedgewitch

*The Hedgewitch lives in the space between the Village and the Forest. Between the mundane and the magical. S/He lives with a foot in both worlds.
This column is dedicated to the Hedgewitches of the planet earth.

The New Hearth

Less is more: Moving Hedge

I know this column is a bit off-topic for those who are knee-deep in holiday revelry. But for those of us who have recently moved, are in the process of moving or are contemplating a move, it is a relevant piece.

My household has just completed the process of moving from the New Mexico high desert, where we have lived for the past 4 years, to the fertile Sacramento river valley of northern California.
This move came with about 2 weeks worth of notice, so it wasn’t a fly-by-night operation, but it was a bit rushed.

In the 2 weeks leading up to the actual drive across country I had occasion to touch, wash and pack every item I own and possess in the world.
I am not an uber-materialistic person, so I don’t have a lot of valuable items. But I have been a collector for several years. Entirely unimpeded by space  constraints for the past 4.
And in that 2 weeks of washing and touching and blessing, I really had to determine the value of every single item I owned.
I knew space was a factor. I knew that there would be things on their way to the flea market after I was gone. So being mindful of the items I have and their value to me was at the forefront of my thinking.
We had rented a 12×6 trailer and arranged for my brother in law to drive down to tow it with his hemi truck- I don’t really know what that means, but he seemed very confident and my husband was sufficiently impressed by it.

As I carefully wrapped jar after jar, bearing labels such as Graveyard Dust and Feathers and Dried Moths I weighed my choices carefully. I remembered having gathered or being gifted each item.
I wrapped countless snowflakes fashioned from various materials, and thought of the person who gave them to me, knowing my absolute fetish for snow, and winter.
I labeled one box simply “Witches” which contained 6 different ladies who have brightened my home.
I packed 9 boxes of books and another staggering 12 boxes of photos .

As I watched my life go from its normal spread-out state, I assessed the importance of all my things, and separated out many, many items which were just not that important to me.
In some cases they were worn out, and in others, I knew just who needed it more than I did.

The thing that became so clear to me, as I packed, was the concept of owning possessions versus being owned by them, and how often I buy things I would never take with me if I had to pack quickly. In short, things that do not matter.
If I were to evacuate my home, in the event of an emergency, I wouldn’t even consider taking so many things with me that had seemed so important before.

This thought has stayed with me, now, as I unpack, and have had to replace things I gave away. As I stand in the shops, I think to myself “does this really matter? Would I take it along in the event of, say, a flood?”.
More often than not, the answer is No, and I put it back on the shelf.

Now, the things I own don’t own me. I have things I enjoy and the less of them there are, the less I have to clean and maintain, leaving me more time to enjoy my family and my friends.

And in this time of tightening belts and cutting back, buying less means more resources for things that are really important.
My blessing of this holiday season has been the knowledge that less is more.
I have had the opportunity to get completely organized, and for probably the first time in my life, I know where everything is!

If you feel compelled to simplify this season, there are plenty of needy folks who would be happy to have those old coats from the closet or bedding from the linen cupboard.
Less stuff means more room.
You get blessed, they get blessed.
Try it, simplifying might just grow on you!

Brightest Blessings of the Holiday Season (whatever holiday(s) you celebrate)!!!
Willow