Roughly three weeks ago, I packed up my belongings and moved home temporarily. Yes, I moved in with my parents back home in Philadelphia. Yes, I’m 32 and now living home with parents. Majority of society would not think highly of my current situation. In fact, it may appear that I’m “moving backwards.”

A little background

2005 – Owned multiple properties (rentals and my own home) on the east coast, including my 3Bd, 3.5BA lovely home with walk-in closets. (I do miss this house)

2007 – Sold it all, moved to San Diego for a job opportunity. Went from owning 3Bd home to renting 1 Bd apartment.

2010 – Packed it up again, moved to San Francisco for job opportunity. Went from 1 Bd apartment to studio city apartment, and sold car.

2011 – I quit! Wanted to venture into entrepreneurship fulltime. Went from studio apartment to renting a room. I ironically joked with friends that I had hit rock bottom and it couldn’t get any worse.

2012 – Now back home with parents in Philly. Temporarily.

So, it does appear pretty bad on the surface. But most of the above are half-truths. There was a time in my life, when I measured a person’s success on one’s material possessions. Most of us do. If someone drives up in an expensive car, an automatic assumption is that this is a person of “wealth”. I believed that and in order to acquire “wealth”, I acquired things. However, as I got older and my desires changed, there were things I had to let go in order to move on. When I moved to San Diego to pursue a better job opportunity, the best decision was to sell the properties. I had to let go of “home owner and landlord”, which was uncomfortable for myself, because I believed my personal value and net worth was in what I owned. Each time I moved, it became a little easier, but still uncomfortableness due to my subconscious belief system about wealth and personal value. When I quit my job, last August, I had to let go of “stable paycheck.” My last move back home should’ve been a personal hit to my pride, but instead I was incredibly grateful.

The real truth about moving home was to be closer with my mother who is now fighting pancreatic cancer. The gratefulness comes from the opportunity to be where I am most needed, because I don’t have all this “stuff.” So this post isn’t a spiritual or philosophical one about emptiness being the path to happiness. (Don’t get me wrong, some “stuff” is “good stuff.”)  This is only a simple reflection that I’ve been able to move forward in my journey by simply letting go of stuff.