The business section of the Minneapolis Star Tribune is a strange place to find spiritual advice. This morning's paper had an article about clearing out clutter. The writer, Liz Reyer, says that to "conquer clutter, you must first look inward." She talks about how important it is to understand your inner goals and values. Doing your "inner housekeeping first" makes outer cleanup so much easier.
She goes so far to as to say that "excessive attachment to material items often stems from a misplaced attempt to fill an inner need." Hmmmm . . .
After construction dust settled from our summer remodeling, it was time for a thorough fall house-cleaning. At least that's what we thought we were doing. but somewhere in the process cleaning out old files in the study, our cleaning became a metaphor for something far more significant. Our professional lives had "encouraged" us to keep files of everything from continuing education to workshops, retreats, and classes that we once led.
Garbage sack after garbage sack of our respective pasts went into the recycling. Construction materials we had saved, since we bought (and remodeled) our first house decades ago, just in case we "might need it." Extra furniture a family member might want someday. Talk about our lives passing before our eyes!
We joke that the house has levitated at least three feet off the ground, because it is so much lighter. But we are the ones who feel much lighter. And ready for where ever our full lives lead us next.
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