Deleting Ghosts
I have been doing some cleaning lately. Physically, it has been the normal stuff: books, dishes, clothes, random junk I haven't used since I first got it, and such. I've been warming up to the fact of not having to own everything I want or tried to want. I've been donating books I had to read for school, the ones I didn't like, and the ones I did. I kept the ones I would read again, but the rest I decided I was content with letting another set of eyes gaze upon the black ink and become transfixed.
I got rid of a few housewarming gifts I got from my parents, a popcorn maker I'd never even heated up, Old Navy shirts and sweaters that piled up higher and higher each Christmas, Birthday, and other holidays. I had dabbled with the idea of going mostly minimalistic, but found that I just had to strike a good balance. I didn't have to have just 1 drawer and a small closet for clothes, but I didn't have to have a mountain of fabric at my beck and call.
Another way I decluttered my life was digitally. I went through some of my social media accounts and either deleted the ones I don't use or declutter my friend's list, pictures and such. It felt hard and good to unfriend some people I had friended years ago that I haven't talked to in 3-5 years. They were like ghosts, always there and kinda haunting me. They took up invisible space, they were -- in a way -- eternal. But I suspected I was a ghost to them, the more than 100 people I set free from my non-existent gaze. I felt lighter, even though I had shed no weight.
It's a weird experience, but one that I'm glad I did. I had a few awkward interactions with people who I re-met and thought had me friended. But besides that, I am happy to limit my fictional hauntings.