Spring Cleaning In Mind

Last night, while flipping aimlessly through a magazine, an article caught my attention. The article was about "getting rid of the clutter". I used to be a lot more organized than I am now. I guess you could say that my house is in total chaos. You know, you have a couple of kids, get busy with life, and dusting/weeding doesn't have the urgency it once had.

So far, I am speaking in double entender; both physical and psychological aspects of life. The words seamed to be jumping off the page, talking directly to me, encouraging me to get my thoughts in order, clean out the cob webs in my mind, and stop wasting so much life on mundane, meaningless things. The article went on to say that you must find your center, and then peace will reign supreme in your life, even while the world around you may be swirling out of control.

I liked that the article wasn't judgemental or assuming, but very gently suggesting ways to find your center. Do things just for time with yourself. After all, if YOU don't like being around you, why would anyone else want to be around you? And the article suggested to really think about what matters to you in your life-not stuff- but values. Values that you don't just write on a piece of paper that you think will make you look good to someone else- but thoughtful, reflective and deeply personal ways of living that would positively affect others as well as keeping you centered.

These can't be so lofty of goals that you would need to be canonised in order to achieve them, but every day affirmations that are truly YOU. Think about what people, ideas, actions are important enough to you that you would defend them to the Earth's end, and would be deeply ashamed if you did not live up to them in real life.

Then start cleaning. Clean out all the bad thoughts that clutter the mind, closing out the good, positive ideas and actions that can bring about your own personal solace; that you would be proud to see your children emulate.

The article also talked about the constant state of messiness that a lot of us live in our homes. We all have a junk drawer- and some of us have junk rooms, storage rentals, etc. It suggested that instead of contemplating buying a bigger house for all your 'stuff', that you clean out all the 'things' that you can live without. Let some light in, make some room for new thoughts and new furniture-maybe.

In your mind, imagine that a gigantic tsunami hits your house and destroys everything in your house (not that wild of circumstance, these days), wipes everything out. What items in your house would you not know that you lost? Is this list long? Think about the things that would personally destroy at least a tiny bit of your heart if you lost it. These are keepers.

From many accounts of disaster victims, the most treasured item that they either retrieved or lost is almost always pictures. Pictures of people that they loved and cared about. Why pictures? I think it is because pictures are our only tangible snapshots of real memories. Good memories. Emotions can be explicitly displayed and captured on film. When you know something good is going to happen, a lot of people immediately grab a camera in anticipation of a great time.

This explains You Tube. This explains camera phones. This explains a lot about human nature. People like being with other people, and savoring those memories.

Look around you in your living areas. Do you see items of you that represent happy or great times? If not, you can always donate your excess baggage, clothes and trinkets that don't have real meaning for you. Instead of trying to win the war of whom has the most 'stuff', exercise some restraint and get rid of things you don't need. I know I need to do this cathartic cleanse.
Use the motto that "less is more" in your life. Less stuff-more life. Give 'til it hurts. Make someone happy. You.

I have to go Spring clean my thoughts, center my self, and get ready to live the rest of my life the way I would like to see my children live their lives!

Sheila