Stop whatever you are doing (other than reading this post) right now.
If you are in a public place, you will need to go somewhere else in your imagination.
If you are at home or at work—some place that constitutes “your space”—take a moment to look around you.
Is your “space” clean, pristine, and organized? Maybe even—to use the current trend—minimalist?
Not mine.
From the vantage point of my rocking, reading, and writing chair by my front window I can see glassware that belonged to my mother-in-law, a china cabinet gifted by a friend that is displaying the aforementioned glassware, furniture gathered from numerous garage sales and thrift stores, other decorative items from similar “unique boutiques,” a violin that belonged to my Grandpa Harris that I need to take to my sister, an accordion that my dad picked up somewhere along the way …
You get the point.
Mrs. Sweetie and I are not hoarders, but we are “collectors.”
We have filled our home with things—some of which we gathered ourselves because we liked them and some of which we inherited when our parents passed away.
And her mom and my dad were exceptionally high achievers when it came to “collecting.”
We have things that we like.
We have things that have stories and memories behind them and that gives them sentimental value.
We have things that might be useful someday … to someone … somewhere.
And we have a hard time getting rid of any of them.
But if there is anything I have learned from having almost all of our parents pass away in the past few years (my mom is the only one left), it is that someone is going to have to do something with this stuff someday.
Finding a place for all of it it can become a burden.
I have projects I want to attack, but I need to be organizing the “stuff.”
When I start to do the things I want to do, I feel guilty for not working on the “stuff.”
I know there are methods and tools and even people who make a living helping people purge and organize.
That’s not what I’m looking for and that’s not why I’m “confessing” today.
I’m looking for a life lesson that transcends the immediate issue.
So, here it is:
You can have a pristine, organized, minimalist “space” and still have a life that is burdened by “clutter.”
You can have a pristine, organized, minimalist “space” and still have a life that is burdened by “clutter.” Share on X
A cluttered and anxious mind in an organized space is still a burden.
What clutters your mind and produces anxiety?
Are those mind-clutterers issues over which you have any control, or even influence?
Here’s something I know, but still need to intentionally remind myself on a regular basis: I do not have unlimited time, energy, enthusiasm, or ability.
And if I invest too much in issues over which I have no control, I will discover there is nothing left for the things—or people—right in front of me.
I have conducted and attended far too many funerals in these past few difficult months. I have never seen mentioned in any obituary a list of “stuff” that the deceased left behind.
I have never seen mentioned in any obituary a list of “stuff” that the deceased left behind. Share on X
Almost every one of them includes a list of loved ones—relationships—left behind. But “left behind” is not the term used.
“Survived by” is the terminology.
What a good reminder that, on this Amazing journey, what survives is relationships, not “stuff.”
On this Amazing journey, what survives is relationships, not “stuff.” Share on X
Maybe that reminder can help us let go of some “stuff” and keep what is left in perspective.
Be amazing today, my friend.
