Wednesday, October 28, 2009

He or She is History: Now What About the Stuff?

teddy bear with heart saying I Love You

While many people will use avenues such as garage sales, eBay, craigslist, Freecycle, and donations to thrift stores - or just the garbage can - to get rid of items that bring back unhappy memories, Jonathan Carroll writes of a different approach:
An unusual Croatian exhibition is traveling around Europe. 'The Museum of Broken Relationships' is the name of the exhibition that has already visited Bosnia Herzegovina, Slovakia and Germany. ... Anyone can visit the exhibition and bring any things relevant to ex-relationships and ex-partners. ...

The main point of the exhibit is to get rid of these painful reminders in a public way. Therapists say that the idea is also good from a psychological point of view. They explain that giving away things that remind us of our ex-partners is the first step towards ridding the heart of its pain and a way of doing something creative with it.
The museum's web site says:
The museum has everything from romantic and touching letters to different gifts given to lovers like teddy bears and photos, but also such unusual examples as leg prosthesis donated by a war veteran who fell in love with his physiotherapist or a gall stone. Every single object on display is anonymous, and has a description / story related to the relationship.
Want to participate without waiting for the exhibit to arrive in your area? You can mail off your contribution to Croatia!

1 comment:

Julie Bestry said...

This is intriguing...a chance to let go of your relationship baggage without the feeling that your prior life experiences are without value (as tossing it away might invoke).