A few years ago, I received an unusual housewarming gift. It was wrapped within a tastefully crafted large gift bag. Inside, the bag was filled with solid, dark mahogany stained wood hangers. They were beautiful, but I was a tad perplexed. I had plenty of hangers...all sorts; wire rimmed hangers, clear plastic hangers from clothes bought at the store, padded hangers, solid plastic hangers, paper covered hangers from the dry cleaners & even some wooden hangers...
My friend politely explained her gift. She said, "Lola, you have moved into such a beautiful home. Everything in your home seems to match your gracious decor. Except, when you took our coats to hang them, I noticed that the hangers in your closet didn't match your house. So, I bought you some new hangers."
I really hadn't paid much attention to my hangers; after all, they were hidden in my closet and glimpsed only for a few moments when I took one out to hang a coat. But, the principle behind the gift got me to thinking...how many mis-matched items were still hanging around in my life even as I had moved on?
In fact, most of the hangers in my closet were simply items that I had randomly collected from a variety of sources. As long as they hung clothes, who cared what they looked like. But upon reflection, I had to admit, some of them did a much better job of preserving my clothes than others. In fact, some of the hangers actually ended up mis-shaping garments that were placed on them.
I'm thinking about how this relates to life. How often do we continue to 'carry around' all sorts of things and people contacts which are no longer active or vibrant in our lives? To what extent are we filling the closets of our lives with issues that no longer resonate with the direction in which we desire to move?
Hanger picture is courtesy of aldrin muya's photostream on flickr.
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Lola Audu, is the Designated Broker & Owner of Audu Real Estate. Our company specializes in helping people buy and sell homes in the greater Grand Rapids, West Michigan area. We've had the privilege of helping hundreds of clients succeed in their goals of purchasing and selling property including demonstrated success in the negotiation of Short Sale Transactions. You can contact us via e-mail @ info@auduhomes.com or by phone at 616-791-0511.
What a wonderful post, Lola. And you're right. There so much we surround ourselves with that was given little or no thought, or simply becasue "that's the way it's always been". Thank you for the thoughts.
Life, in and of itself, is a set of mismatched hangers. But that is part of the 'recipe' that causes us to think, reason, react, and rationalize. We, through our own mismatched hangers, learn to adapt, change, amend and invent.
It's a growth process.
Hi Lola ! Hmmmm - how true is that - we had a conversation around that very subject last Sunday. Which has prompted us to be more aware,daily. I guess you could say we're cleaning our our mismatched hangers!
PS So are the nice hangers a lot better? I always wondered about that but never did anything about it.
Troy, thank you for stopping by to read. "Stuff" does have a way of creeping into our lives if we don't pay attention. While there may have been value at some time, things do change and adjustments need to be made; otherwise 'clutter' becomes an impediment to real progress. JMHO.
Carol, appreciate your contribution to this discussion:
"Life, in and of itself, is a set of mismatched hangers. But that is part of the 'recipe' that causes us to think, reason, react, and rationalize. We, through our own mismatched hangers, learn to adapt, change, amend and invent."
"It's a growth process."
Sooo...is the issue the mis-match or understanding that different aspects of life may require different things at different times. I love how you're helping us think about the nature of order and disorder. Thank you.
Anna...in reality, most hangers in my closet were doing an adequate job although some looked nicer than others. However, some of the wire hangers were playing havoc with the shape of our clothing. So yes, I am liking the wooden hangers. They're beautiful. :)
Lola, good question. I would have to admit that their are things in my life, both personal and business that don't match and need to be replaced.
Lola-
You've really got me thinking about this one. I'm moving on up, but still wearing a shirt I got for free 5 years ago.
Woo, Lola, I'm going to put on my thinking cap and do some soul searching! I think it's time for some new hangers in my life too.
Lola,
Today, you're my favorite blogger. Thank you.
Mike in Tucson
What a philosophical question you ask!
I thikn that your observation is correct, we do carry around things that we look through without seeing that are not a match to us anymore. Possessions, careers and people all fit into this category.
I cant see myself hanging out with a lot of people I knew when I was a lot younger because we are so different now and we have nothing in common. My previous career held me back for 20 years till I decided to shed it. As far as the hangers go, my wife has already got that one taken care of!
We have moved 12 times in 17 years of marriage, the rolling stone gathers no moss, and it costs so darn much to move all that stuff. I've run out of favours from friends and family when it comes to moving :)
Lola, This is definitely the post that got me thinking. So many different types of "hangers" in our lives. Some match, some don't, some fit, some aren't even in the same closet.