GOOD-BYE RED SHOES, GOOD-BYE GUILT

I am rooting around in a closet to find a seasonal jacket, and I cast my eyes on my beloved unworn red shoes! 

I love THOSE shoes!  I love RED shoes! 

I feel strong and positive.  I could walk anywhere and face any challenge when I have red shoes on my feet.

I have a hard foot to fit and it took me a very long time to find those red shoes.

I paid a lot for them and expected that they would give me years of service.

I wore them ONCE several years ago.  Long enough to mark them up beyond returning. 

Long enough to realize that they didn’t fit properly after all.  

No problem, I said. I stretched them with shoe stretchers. And then by packing ziplock bags of water inside and freezing them overnight.

I took them to a shoe shop that specializes in stretching shoes. I wore my thinnest socks.

The red shoes still do not fit and each year I stuff them back in the closet with one hopeful thought. 

Perhaps my feet will shrink by my next birthday and I can wear them!

The burden of guilt on my shoulders grows heavier on each birthday.

Are there any  "red shoes" in your life that lead to guilt or feeling badly every time you see the item? 

How about the high-end tool set that never got used? Or your Aunt's beautiful antique bowl that you chipped the first time you used it?   

Or a year’s worth of unread yet paid for magazines? Or the item that cost two paycheques and sits unused in your garage? Or the unboxed wedding gift from a favourite friend?

Are you able to put a price on the emotional or psychological grip that these items have on us? Think about it.

For me, the price became too high for me to keep paying.

Last evening, I took a deep breath and walked over to my closet. I picked up those lovely red shoes one last time, and placed them in the give-away box.

This morning I delivered them along with several other boxes to a local second-hand store. 

Almost before I had time to blink, my red shoes were purchased by a customer, and they walked out of the store on her feet!

Today the red shoes no longer burden me and they grace someone else’s life. 

New found freedom on letting go!