Numb or Letting Go?

[kokopelle]

Question... how does one tell if they are going unhealthily numb or if they are letting go of things that should be discarded?

Change can be very good. I recently shared on my facebook page a pic that says "If you are want to change you will have to be willing to be uncomfortable". Fine... but! Too much change can overwhelm the senses, and we humans tend to go numb in response to over stimulus. An extreme example of this is amnesia of especially traumatic events. Numbness is a balm that supports a version of sanity.

Change also asks us to put aside things / ideas / people that are not part of the new paradigm. The outcome is a healthier environment. Clutter, debris, and downright toxic elements are removed from the personal environment. Good stuff typically. Things put aside are no longer felt (as much) as they are no longer part of our larger reality.

So, back to the question. If I am no longer experiencing certain emotions or thoughts, how do I know if I've gone numb or if they are truly discarded? Time will tell, but is there a litmus test that is more immediate? Hmmm...

Comments

[valkyriur.livejournal.com]

It's hard to say. It seems like sometimes we can be numb to something or even forget something entirely, and then one day we're accosted by a memory that fills us with rage or tears. Something that seems insignificant now, like a neighbor kid ruining our coloring page, can have a lasting effect.

Anecdote: A few years ago I decided to clean the physical clutter our of my living space. In the process of doing that, I discovered I was cleaning my head and heart, as well. It bothered me to donate or throw some of the things out. At one point I started wondering if maybe I was just throwing my past away. What I realized was that I wasn't throwing things away. I was removing the anchor and giving myself permission to move forward. Those lessons still remain with me, even if I no longer have the physical reminders.