Cleaning out your house is like doing inventory on your
mind. Over a relatively short period of time, we can easily accumulate so many
items. Unlike carpetbaggers, who would refer to this this as removable baggage some
would it call garbage. Perhaps it should be relegated to the curb! And your mind, it must be routinely
de-cluttered as well.
As I began a project of working from room to room cleaning
out closets, I was shocked to find out how many miscellaneous ‘things’ I had.
Mind you, most had very little value and were waiting for a purpose. Each one
was taking up space and collectively, they were piling up needed space for
either newer items or simply freedom. In
my mind, freedom is room to roam without constraints. My closet needs room to breathe much as my
mind needs room to grow.
The work of cleaning out the clutter of the house is a trip
down memory lane as the items collected in one’s lifetime are all
representative of some moment in time.
Each moment should have been some stepping stone to future growth, a
revelation. If the possessions served no purpose, why hold on to them? What is the point of simply hanging on to
items to fill space? My closets can only
hold so much and my mind may have an unlimited amount of resources but my
ability to retain it, at this age, has serious limitations. I don’t need frivolous
junk floating in there. Pitch the unnecessary, unneeded, the dirty and begin
anew.
Any item that was old, I evaluated. Does this bring me
pleasure or pain? Living today, in the
moment is key to happiness, the present and the future. Staring in the
windshield too long is a surefire way to get smashed with what’s coming up
ahead. How often do we hold onto painful memories wishing they would be
different and knowing they never will?
Seeing items that bring up disappointments should be considered
carefully if they hold value clinging in the cobwebs or not. Just as in the
mind, should your mind be filled with memories so vivid constantly that you are
unable to process what is going on around you?
Should anyone from your past steal your joy today? If the items are worrisome, get rid of them.
They have served their purpose.
As my pile grew, the items I was giving away, I realized how
many happy hands and faces would receive it. These would be people who would
have empty closets and be grateful to fill them. The irony did not escape me
that I was working on not only decluttering my house but my mind. These receivers
were focused on so much smaller demands in life than I, survival. The irony of having
so much is wanting so much more. Having so little entails being satisfied with
so much less. Aye, we with plenty have much to learn.
And so, as my closets became more open, my mind became clearer.
I realized I needed to be more committed to not hanging on to so many thoughtless
items. I also recognized my desire to be less focused on the frivolous things
in my life and more balanced and determined to concentrate on what matters most
to me. Cleaning out cobwebs is hard work. It shouldn’t be done by the light
hearted. And once done, it should undo a web of clutter in the house and mind.
