Moody moving blues....

There is something to be said for the process of packing up everything you own, putting it onto a truck and carting it off to some unknown destination. Will each item find it's very own place and make it's new home? In my case, with whom will each item that I've carefully fostered and cared for over the years find it's place? Will thier new owners take care of it, love it and admire it as much as I have? Each item that makes its way so carefully into the bubble wrap, then into the box, has a certain meaning when it goes in. Sometimes it has a different meaning when it comes out. Maybe it won't find it's place, maybe it won't be needed any longer, maybe it will have more responsibilities. In the case of items kept, your need for each item changes as you change, and in the case of items gone by, some disappear from your memory and yet others you remember with such fondness, my favorite mon chi chi stuffed raccoon animal thing....(which actually belonged to my older sister but I 'borrowed')

In our capitalist society, we tend to let the things we own define us. As my roommate mentioned this morning, our beloved Monopoly was designed to help teach people about capitalism. However the process of moving, whether it be across town or, in my case, around the world, is both humbling and difficult. Though I'm not someone who has a lot of 'stuff', I am amazed at the cumulative number of boxes filling up my living room right now. In the end, I think I worry even more than the items that have already made it into their respective boxes do. The major difference, however, is that I am not at the whim or will of someone else, who may or may not have use for me. Not only that, I know there is someone wonderful awaiting my arrival, someone who didn't purchase a bill of goods, but someone who can't wait to unfold the mysteries life has to offer, together. The important thing in the end, is that I plant my own seeds and grow my own garden, with the love and support of friends and family.

I am reminded of a poem that someone once sent to me, which I have since lost track of but found what I could on google, it's called 'I've learned'. And as I woke up at 4am for some reason I was thinking about it, so here's the closest version I could find:

I've learned...a poem...author unknown

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
I've learned that you can get by on charmfor about fifteen minutes.After that, you'd better know something.
I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do but to the best you can do.
I've learned that it's not what happens to people that's important. It's what they do about it.
I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I've learned that you can keep going long after you think you can't.
I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I've learned that learning to forgive takes practice.
I've learned that there are people who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it.
I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.
I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. The same goes for true love.
I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
I've learned that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I've learned that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I've learned that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
I've learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I've learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon.
I've learned that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and not hurting people's feelings and standing up for what you believe.
I've learned to take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
I've learned to remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
I've learned to remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
I've learned to approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
I've learned great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.
I've learned anger is only one letter short of danger.
I've learned that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned that life is tough, but I'm tougher.
I've learned when someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.
I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life."
I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.
I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.
I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.
Author Unknown