To live a well balanced, rewarding life of our dreams by day and sleep restfully at night.
Yesterday I wrote a post about three things that interfere with our peace of mind: feeling disorganized, being overly committed, and work issues.
Being disorganzied is often caused by feeling surrounded by clutter.
On Sunday mornings I have a ritual of drinking coffee with the paper and then doing some spiritual reading, journal writing, and centering. This morning I happened to pick up Shakti Gawain’s classic book: Creative Visualization and then turned to the section about clearing. She offers all kinds of exercises to clear out the emotional and physical clutter in our lives. Then I picked up another book I have in our bathroom: Simple Abundance A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. The entry for today, May 16th is entitled: “Clearing Out What Isn’t Useful or Beautiful”. I think God or the universe is talking to me here.
I truly do believe that the universe does not like a vacuum. If we want to create the lives of our dreams we need to make room for the stuff we want and clear out what no longer serves us.
For emotional clutter: we can write down any worries, hurts, or challenges we are having with people. Get it all out on paper. Then when we are ready we can just tear the paper up or put it in the fireplace. This forgiving and releasing process can be very freeing. It takes a lot of energy to remain hurt, victimized, resentful and irritated with things, events, memories, and people.
For physical clutter: Start with one closet, drawer, or room in your house. Or begin with your desk at work. Commit to clearing out things you no longer need or find beautiful. Give them away so that someone else can enjoy these things.
When I need a break from my computer this morning, I plan on thinning out my closet and dresser drawers. It is Springtime. We are really almost beginning our Florida summer here. It is time to get rid of some things and make room for lighter, brighter things for this new season.
We don’t have to let clutter stress us or weigh us down.
Our living, work, and mental space have a definite impact on our well being. If my house, classroom, car, closet, bedroom, mind are a mess then I am probably not getting the most restful sleep possible.
It is finally Spring. What a nice time to clean, organize, and de-clutter our spaces. There are plenty of books and articles out there on this subject. The important thing is to not get overwhelmed. Remember the earlier post about baby steps? Any little thing you do that cleans, organizes, simplifies, and streamlines your life is a step in the right direction.
Get out your journal and write down some things you can do. Envision your clean, uncluttered environment as if it is already that way now. Enjoy the peace and solace of that vision. Then take action. Even if it is just one thing (like giving that sweater away that you never wear anymore), you will feel better. It is very cleansing to get rid of clutter.
The universe abhors a vacuum. By getting rid of the things that no longer please and nurture you, you are making room in your life for opportunities and better things . A bonus too is that a clean orderly bedroom will promote more restful sleep!