Over breakfast this morning, I read an article in the March 2011 issue of "Whole Living" which spoke directly to our current Hybrid Cure, at least to my experience of it. The article, found on page 64 of this issue, is entitled "Cleaning House", by Susanna Sonnenberg.
Like so many of us have been, Susanna was stuck in a kind of clutter inertia (my phrase) which kept her from finding things, kept her from freeing herself from things in the past which had an unhealthy hold on her, kept her from finding who she was now and who she wanted to be. A fortuitous find in a library led to a breakthrough for her. That find was the book "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui" by Karen Kingston.
Karen's book is one I have read more than once -- I find it both inspiring and challenging as I face the prospect of decluttering. Whether or not one buys into the concepts of Feng Shui, the basic tenets of the book (and of the article cited above) are easy fits, I believe, for those of us who are trying to free our homes from the weight of past clutter, and who are seeking the best way to express our idea of "Home" in our freed-up surroundings. Clutter is stale energy. It depletes us. It blocks us from stepping boldly into the future. It weighs us down.
That's not to say it's always easy to discard those weights. Sometimes there will be a pang of regret, sometimes there will be much vacillation before we can let go, sometimes there will be resistance or judgment from others -- but the freedom, the openness, the ability to figuratively stand tall and breathe again, of finally being on the path to one's intended life, these make the process worthwhile.
A brief quote from the magazine article affirms the feeling of being on the right track, of doing this for the right reason:
Until I read Kingston I'd never decluttered with the goal of opening. ... as I transformed clutter into purpose, I felt engaged, hopeful, like starting a diet to boost my body for a marathon rather than to fit into smaller jeans.
Yes. Feeling engaged, hopeful, purposeful -- that's how I've been feeling as I've been jettisoning the stale energy of the past in favor of the present and the future. It's a good feeling.
You may have forgotten, but MG-R talks about Kingston's book, too, and how it transformed his relationship to the "stuff" in his life.
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased this is a good experience for you. It could be otherwise. My Mother and my daughter hate to part with things: it frightens them--makes them doubt whether they will remember the person or event they associate with the item. Lots of meaning in object: it's important to find a way to keep the meaning and let go of the object.
I used to be incredibly sentimental about everything (I cried when our road was built up, when I was a kid!) I hated to let go of anything. Over the years I've taught myself that as long as I have memory, I will still be able to treasure those things in my mind and heart, and if I lose my memory, the lack of those things will no longer matter.
ReplyDeleteMy partner and I are having to move out of the flat we've lived in for 40 and 20 years respectively. We'd better read this book before packing all the others!
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