I Think I Finally Understand What It Means to Receive

What a closet, a bag of old clothes, and 8/8 reminded me about relevance.

Something happened today that I didn’t realize was symbolic until afterward.

And now I can’t stop thinking about it.

Today is 8/8—the day many people celebrate as the Lion’s Gate Portal, a symbolic moment for release, intention, expansion, manifestation and receiving.

I’ve been thinking about what I wanted this moment to mean for me.

And then...I cleaned out my closet.

Not exactly the mystical experience I expected. But maybe it was exactly the one I needed.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve changed.

A lot.

As part of my Freedom to 50 journey, I made a commitment to myself around Health, Wealth and Self.

And somewhere along that journey, my body changed.

My clothes changed.

But my closet hadn’t quite caught up.

I had all these clothes hanging there that were now way too big. Too baggy. Clothes that belonged to a version of me that I had already moved beyond.

And yet I kept them.

Just in case.

Just in case I gained the weight back. Just in case I needed them someday. Just in case I reverted.

There was something comforting about knowing they were there.

A safety net.

A backup plan.

A way of keeping the door open to a version of myself I no longer wanted to return to.

But I was tired of feeling like a “bag lady” so I finally ordered some new dress shirts!

Shirts that actually fit me.

When they arrived, I almost shoved them in the closet and moved on like I had been doing.

But today I paused. I looked at those old shirts and something shifted.

I thought:

I don’t need these anymore.

Not because they were bad.

Not because that version of me was bad.

But because I’m not going back.

So I started a donation bag.

And as I carried the bag out to my car, I realized what I was actually releasing.

It wasn’t just clothing.

It was the need to keep a physical reminder of who I used to be... just in case I needed her again.

And that felt POWERFUL!

Then something else happened.

I took the hangers from the old clothes...and used them for my new clothes.

And suddenly I saw the metaphor.

I didn’t need new hangers.

I needed to release what was no longer occupying the space.

The same things that had been holding the old clothes...could now hold something new.

And when I finished hanging my new shirts, I realized I still had several hangers left.

Empty.

Waiting.

And for the first time, an empty space didn’t feel like something I needed to fill immediately.

It felt like possibility.

I can bring more newness into this closet when I’m ready.

I don’t have to know what it is yet.

I just have to leave room for it.

And maybe that’s what receiving really is.

We talk a lot about manifestation. About asking for what we want.

About becoming the next version of ourselves.

But what if receiving isn’t about getting more?

What if receiving begins with releasing?

Releasing what no longer fits.

Releasing what we keep “just in case.”

Releasing the identities we have outgrown.

Releasing the stories that tell us we need to go backward.

Releasing the belief that the safest thing we can do is hold onto what we already know.

Because sometimes the new thing isn’t missing.

There’s simply no room for it yet.

And that brought me back to the question I’ve been sitting with all day:

What does this have to do with relevance?

Everything.

Because I’ve spent a lot of my life believing relevance was something I had to earn.

The right title, role, accomplishment, recognition.

And when those external markers changed, I couldn’t help but ask: Am I still relevant?

Maybe you’ve wondered that too.

After a career change, becoming an empty nester, after a divorce, leaving a company or after your body changes through the years.

After realizing the identity you built your life around doesn’t fit anymore.

We can mistake outgrowing an identity for losing our relevance.

But they’re not the same thing.

And today, standing in front of my closet, I realized something I think I have been trying to articulate for a long time:

My relevance isn’t dependent on whether someone else recognizes my value.

It isn’t something I can gain...

or lose...

by changing clothes.

My relevance is in who I am.

What I’ve lived, learned, how I see things and what I create.

How I connect, make other people feel seen and the wisdom I share.

That’s the woman I have become.

And that means I don’t have to keep the old clothes in my closet to prove that I’ve been her.

I can thank her. I can honor her. I can even love her.

And I can let her go.

Maybe that’s what this 8/8 portal means to me.

Not that some magical doorway suddenly opens and I become someone new. But that I can consciously choose to walk through a doorway I’ve been approaching for a long time.

A doorway where I stop asking:

“What do I need to become?”

and start asking:

“What am I ready to release so I can receive what already fits who I am becoming?”

That’s a different question.

And it feels like freedom.

So tonight, my affirmation is a little different than the ones I’ve carried before.

I’m not asking the universe to make me more relevant.

I’m not asking for proof or permission and I’m not asking to become someone worthy of the next chapter.

I’m simply making room.

And trusting myself enough to say:

I don’t have to chase my relevance.
I AM the relevance.

I release what no longer fits.

I make room for what does.

I am ready to receive what is aligned with who I am now.

And when something new arrives...

I’ll know where to hang it.

Maybe you have a closet of your own (not necessarily a literal one).

Maybe it’s a role, a relationship, a story or an expectation.

A version of yourself you’ve been keeping around...

just in case.

What are you holding onto that no longer fits? What are you afraid might happen if you let it go? And what might become possible if you trusted yourself enough to release it?

Because here’s what I’m learning:

An empty hanger isn’t bad.

It’s an invitation.

It’s space.

It’s possibility.

It’s a quiet declaration that says:

I’m not going back.

I’m ready for what fits now.

And maybe...

I’m even ready for what I haven’t imagined yet.

✨

Remember who you are.

Align with your purpose.

Rise into your power.

And above all...

Don’t chase your relevance.

You ARE the relevance.

Here’s to living a HigherRelevance™ life!

Share in the comments what you are ready to release.