truly offensive

I'm ashamed that this sign is actually posted in my county.

Gram's pretty purses

 

lost?

letting go

How do you let go of attachment to things? Don't even try. It's impossible. Attachment to things drops away by itself when you no longer seek to find yourself in them.

--Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose, p. 45

facing down disorder

I abominate clutter. I loathe disorder. Messes make me maniacal. Okay, I may be overstating it just a bit, but the bottom line is that disorganization makes me quite anxious. So it's ironic, isn't it, that I'm a professional organizer? How is it that I can manage to trudge through other people's varying states of disorder and not go completely loopy? I do wonder that oftentimes.

I think the answer is that 1.) it is an amazing feeling to witness the transformation of a space from chaotic to orderly and 2.) it is just as amazing a feeling to touch the lives of others by assisting in such transformations. As much as I love the end result (an organized space), it is, in fact, helping another person regain peace of mind that makes me feel most successful. The process of getting organized can, indeed, be quite laborious, even painful, but the rewards of sticking with it and seeing it through are immense. I love walking my clients through that process and watching their growth.

[However, helping one's own spouse/partner get organized is an ENTIRELY different animal altogether. It's probably a bit like a teacher trying to educate his own kids, or a therapist attempting to counsel her own family members. Sometimes necessary but not often recommended.]

drowning in stuff?

Here's a must-see, award-winning, British commercial that beautifully visualizes the ocean of stuff that daily engulfs us. (And, oh yeah, the requisite storage space we'll need to rent to hold it all.)

Watch Tide.

letting go of things

This DailyOm entry, about the power of possessions, is one of my very favorites.

February 21, 2006
The Weight Of Objects
Clearing Your Space For Change

In life, we tend to have an easier time acquiring possessions than we do getting rid of them. Just as we harbor emotional baggage that is difficult to let go of, our lives can tend to be filled with material objects that we may feel compelled to hold on to. Most people are not conscious of how much they own and how many of their possessions are no longer adding value to their life. They fiercely hold on to material objects because this makes them feel secure or comfortable. While it's true that the ownership of "stuff" can make you feel good for awhile, it seldom satisfies the deep inner longings that nearly everyone has for fulfillment and satisfaction. It is only when we are ready to let go of our baggage and be vulnerable that it becomes possible to recognize the emotional hold that our possessions can have on us.

It's not uncommon to hold on to material objects because we are attached to them or fear the empty spaces that will remain if we get rid of them. Giving away the souvenirs from a beloved voyage may feel like we are erasing the memory of that time in our life. We may also worry that our loved ones will feel hurt if we don't keep the gifts they've given us. It's easy to convince ourselves that unused possessions might come in handy someday or that parting with them will cause you emotional pain. However, when your personal space is filled with objects, there is no room for anything new to enter and stay in your life. Your collection of belongings may "protect" you from the uncertainties of an unknown future while keeping you stuck in the past. Holding on to unnecessary possessions often goes hand in hand with holding on to pain, anger, and resentment, and letting go of your material possessions may help you release emotional baggage.

When you make a conscious decision to fill your personal space with only the objects that you need or bring you joy, your energy level will soar. Clearing your personal space can lead to mental clarity and an improved memory. As you learn to have a more practical and temporary relationship to objects, positive changes will happen, and you'll have space to create the life that you desire.

newest addition

I arrived home tonight from our Labor Day Weekend away to find this precious little one-inch fellow awaiting me in the mail. A surprise gift from a friend and, now, the most recent addition to my beloved penguin colony. Accompanying him was a small informational card, which I've reproduced below for your edification and enjoyment.

Handmade Penguin Stone Sculpture
Interesting Totem Spirit Traditions

Penguins search for and encounter Love, and embrace its responsibilities. Penguins completely inhabit the spirit of mutual respect between mates and children, as well as respect for others. Penguins, within Family and Colony, give of themselves completely.

People with this Totem take care of their appearance, are social, and feel at ease in many types of different situations. Penguin people have courage. Their confidence and grace can bring them leadership opportunities. Their natural comfort in different, and sometimes difficult, environments promises success.

The Penguin teaches us to have grace in our actions and emotions. While on land, the Penguins appear formal and upright. They waddle with determination and focus. While in the water, their movements are fast, graceful and fluid. When they finish swimming they shoot high out of the water and land solidly on their feet. They are steady in a slippery world.

Penguins urge us to connect with our own inner rhythm, honor the earth, our body and mind, and move with determination or agility depending on the circumstances. Penguins have clarity and teach us determination, courage, and balance in all things.

not a crock

I see them everywhere. Crocs. The plastic shoes, usually clogs, with holes in them. I never found them terribly attractive, but people I know swear by them. In particular, a nurse who wears them at work where she is on her feet for hours and hours at a time. I would never have considered purchasing them myself until my husband was directed by his chiropractor to get a pair to help with his plantar fasciitis. So, while he was trying on his selections, I decided, for the heck of it, to try on a pair of Crocs myself. Turns out, people are on to something. They're light, cushy, airy (the holes), wide, and they come in lots of colors (chocolate's my fav). But what won me over were the Mary Janes (see photo to right), which, in my opinion, are much more stylish, more understated, and cuter than the original clogs. I took a pair home, and now they're my new favorites.

What are you're favorite shoes?

questioning things

Whether by choice or by necessity, all of us, at some point, need to get organized in one way or another. (At the moment, preparing to stage my house and move to another state require it of me. ) For many of us, items which have personal meaning--memorabilia, photos, art, collections, gifts, etc.--are the most difficult to organize and to part with. When clearing our personal clutter and purging excess in our lives, I believe it is helpful to come armed with a few key questions, which will make decisions easier.

In fact, I offer you nine questions (or sets of questions) to ask of your things, as you sort, purge, and order them. These questions are ones I've been thinking about and refining for some time now and always enjoy sharing with others, as they have greatly helped me navigate through my own personal belongings. (While I'm emphasizing personal things--items which one owns and which hold personal meaning--the following questions are equally applicable to things which are mundane or which have yet to be purchased or owned.)

The purpose of these questions is to assist you in letting go of that which does not serve you and attaining, instead, that which fully supports you.

Ask of your belongings:

1. What feelings or memories does the object hold? Are they good/uplifting feelings and memories, or bad/depressing ones? If your emotional associations are negative, why are you keeping it?
2. What does this object say to you about its and/or your history? Objects have a way of communicating with us, so ask whether this object conveys positive messages about the past or negative ones.
3. How did you acquire this object? Did you choose it? Or did someone choose it for you? Are you keeping it simply because someone in particular gave it to you?
   
4. Do you love and/or need this object? If you neither love it nor need it, let it go. This is a critical question about your overall attachment to an object.
   
5. Does it support your current goals and values? What are your current goals and values?
   
6. Is it clutter (anything that is nonessential, does not serve you, or is excess)? Does it block the flow of energy in your life?
7. Does this object help you move forward in a positive way? Is its energy life-affirming? How will it support your dreams?
   
8. Would you rescue this item in an emergency? In other words, is it something you want to hold onto into the future? Enough to save it from disaster?
9. Do you really want this object in your life? What do the answers to all the previous questions tell you about your relationship to the object under question? Is it clear that you still want this object in your life? If so, keep it. If not, it may be time to let it go.

I hope these queries guide you toward a more satisfying relationship with your stuff. Feedback and anecdotes welcomed, as always.