Keepsake: Something that serves to keep alive the memory of a person or event
I have a hope chest full of keepsakes of both my own childhood and my children’s. My father made me the chest when I was a teen and it is one of my most treasured belongings, along with the desk he built for me. These are keepsakes. They remind me of the wonderful times I spent with my father. 
But recently, I realized that I have a figurative hope chest as well. We’ll just call it Pandora’s Box and in it, I find all sorts of wrongs that have been done against me. I’ve always been pretty good about letting stuff go, but apparently, there are a few things in there that I’m hanging on to. Resentment against my parents, friends and family.
These aren’t keepsakes. They aren’t things I should treasure. Maybe they even hold me back from becoming the person I want to be, or the writer I want to be.
Action: Cleaning out Pandora’s chest, one festering item at a time. Or maybe all at once in a spiritual bonfire.
Image Courtesy of PONG at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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