Recently I did something I have never done; deleted contacts out of my phone. For some reason I have convinced myself all of the 294 contacts in my phone really have some poignant value in my life.
It was weird; almost as if the act was some death-defying stunt. I picked up the phone...held it in my shaking hand, scrolled to the first name, pulled up the menu and then locked eyes with the delete button. It started back like an old school playground bully....I wish you would make any sudden move. At first I complied. Quickly tossed the phone on the bed and walked to the kitchen. Yeah this was going to be major.
JW (pronounced JayDUB) is one of the best things to have happened to my teaching career. We've bonded over planning and grading. Laughed over my oddities and his peculiarities. We make a dynamic teaching team. He was the motivation for the deletion. His minimalistic lifestyle is much admired. Spurred by his love of traveling, he only has in his life what he needs. Even his attitude is carefree, not to be confused with careless; his heart can soften the hardest stone. Not that I desire to be like him; I desire to partake in life. Too often I am cluttered with unnecessary burdens. Picking up nick-knacks that sit in corners covered in layers of dust in less then a month.
If it adds no value to my journey it must go.
Delete one. Tiffany zero. The connection to these contacts was deep rooted in a juvenile discomfort of self. I never really had many friends. However, forward progression, at this point, can't be hampered by past nonsense. We all must, pardon the bluntness--grow the eff up. Let it go. You ten years ago does not have to be you now. NOW...new operations without worry.
I grabbed the phone and got throwback busy. If I hadn't talked to the contact since my move, delete.
At the end of my adventure, I whittled down the 294 to 113. And as I type, 17 more found their way to the deletion button.
96 remain...96...family, friends, business contacts. Value, meaning, worth.
Though I am far from JW's level of clarity, I am one step closer to better than I was yesterday.
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