Michael Hedges is the backdrop for this one. I'm at Schnucks eating salad bar with dressing I bought from home. I'm on a break from the BIG PURGE. Therefore this little entry might be boring. I'll take the risk. We have SO MUCH STUFF! and yet, not that much, but so many of "our" things don't have a place in our home. They've been sitting around our lives for ages, keeping the corners of boxes company, the ones in the back of the closet waiting for nothing. We already have a large pile of boxes in the back corner of the pod ready to go into our garage sale this Saturday. The boys are motivated by the prospect of cash. They get to split the proceeds from all the kids stuff that sells. Here's something I found on a flylady.net email a few days after we set aside time to do this purge. Very motivating yes? Read on...
"Dear Friends,
What is your clutter doing to you?
One day when I was having a conversation with my dear friend Tracy,
she coined a phrase that I asked to borrow. Clutter is to our homes
as cholesterol is to our arteries. So I ran with it. Over the past few
years, it has been forwarded to me saying you have to read this.
It is so funny when your own words come back to you via the
internet. LOL
This is scary, so lets examine the similarities.
Cholesterol clogs arteries.
Clutter invades the pathways of our homes.
Cholesterol increases blood pressure.
Clutter causes stress in your life.
Cholesterol reduces your life span.
Clutter decreases your joy in living.
Cholesterol cost major money when you treat it.
Clutter pushes money away from you.
Cholesterol causes heart disease.
Clutter destroys closeness in families
Cholesterol is a result of over indulging in fatty foods.
Clutter is a result of over indulging in stuff.
Cholesterol causes arteries to harden
Clutter causes hearts to harden.
Do you see that we have to put our homes on a cholesterol free,
clutter free diet.
How do we do this: By changing our eating habits
We live in a society in which the one who dies with the most stuff
wins! Do you want your stuff to be the death of you.
Start changing you eating habits, by only buying things that are
needed.
When you bring something new home, purge something old that it
replaces.
Get rid of the items that you have more than one of.
Give away the things you no longer use.
Clean out those clothes that you can't wear.
Clean out those attics and basements.
Look at why you are holding on to things. Are you afraid that you
are going to have to do without. Fear and hoarding are signs that you
don't have faith in God.
Clutter was clogging up my pathways to the abundance. When I got rid
of my clutter I opened my heart to all the joy that life has to
offer.
What is stopping you from getting rid of clutter?
Are you ready to FLY?
FlyLady"
So this is what I'm talking about. Especially this line about cholesterol hardening our arteries and clutter hardening our hearts. It was like BAM in my face. Yes, I was not as nice simply because I felt overwhelmed by all the pieces of material I had to keep track of, clean, pick up, sort, organize and manage. And most of those pieces are optional to the smooth functioning of providing our basic needs and actually get in the way. Even worse, they detract from the quality of living once our basic needs are met. Blah!
Good then, getting to it! Strange are the pangs of doubt when I come to an item that has a use, might one day be useful etc. Here's what I must hold in my hand and carry in my heart and keep front and center in my head. God has created a flow that I have found works like this. If I stay open and honest, if I am not greedy but generous, if I am focused on the objective of a happy loving family, happy loving friendships, helping my fellow humans and being a good person, then if I truly need something, it will be there. Defining "need" helps. Then there is the question of what if what we need does not come. Maybe there is another hidden gift. Either way, I have been sinking in the mire of material congestion and I want out of that trap. I will sing more, write more, reach out more, give more, love more, worry less, fear less, when I can hear the space of clarity created. What are we doing here anyway? Living, loving and learning.
Posted by heidi at October 7, 2009 06:49 PM