Have you heard the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure?“ I was going for a walk this morning and I saw these treasured examples of castaway hats hanging in the dead branches of a tree. Someone found those tossed items and placed them in the tree as if adorning the branches of an evergreen. It goes to show you that beauty can be found even in the clutter of our lives. It's all in how you look at it, search for it, and preserve it.
Our lives can be cluttered with worthless moments that steal our attention, our energy, and our joy. We can focus on the flaws of our spouse and forget the reason why we married them. We can accumulate garbage thinking and blame others for the pain we feel, when in reality we are the only one collecting trash.
Consider how those collected hats made someone happy. Those discarded items once brought joy to whoever wore them, protected them from the heat, and allowed shade to cover their eyes. When the owner replaced the old with a new hat, the old were discarded as worthless. In relationships we do this with people all the time. We discard, diminish, and disrespect others who have lost value to us.
The good news is all this can change. You can find a new way to look at your relationship. You can appreciate the gifts you have and repurpose, restructure, and reshape the way you look at your life. You can make new memories that will replace the memories you wish you could forget. And sometimes, you can appreciate, and even treasure, the trashy times of your life. This is where joy can be found.