the fortress of shame

Our obsessions and fear of letting go if not tamed can eventually lead to shame. Hoarding is a serious problem and its root cause is that we are too scared to part from our things. Why do we cling to objects and relationships in our lives even when they don’t function anymore, knowing that their value quotient has dropped to ground zero? Because we believe in resurrections and the ‘just in case’ mentality. The real problem is we feel there’ll be a void in our lives… an unfillable void within ourselves if we let these things go.

I am catching up on episodes from The Big Bang Theory, and in one Season 9 episode, they reveal that Dr. Cooper aka Sheldon is a big-time hoarder. He has his own storage locker, where he has kept all his belongings since he was a child. He called it ‘the fortress of shame’ , an apt name. Now, this is an extreme example, but we all have our own fortresses of shame. It’s not a coincidence that self-storage has become a billion dollar industry today.

The best way to get back our freedom and let go of the burdens of guilt and shame is to start small and let go one thing at a time. It’s a tiny step, but at least we’ll be going in the right direction, without looking behind.