Restoring Order
“Restore and maintain order around you, and you’ll feel order in your soul. Create beauty around you, and you’ll feel beauty in your soul. The magic will return. The simple tasks will lead you to it.”
Melody Beattie (Journey to the Heart)
I have had construction going on in my house for the last six weeks-a bathroom redo. My house has been filled with disorder, sheet-rock dust, paint fumes, extraneous fixtures and drop-cloths. It has been a mess. I would pick my way into my bedroom or study, trying not to touch anything because the layer of dust kept my clothes perpetually dirty. All the linens had to be washed, the rugs vacuumed and furniture dusted repeatedly, just to be able to live on the main level. The remodel is finally finished. Now, the real work of clean-up begins.
I don’t know anyone who really likes housework, but when you truly give yourself over to it, the small tasks are restorative. There is a Zen quality to most humble chores. I remember staying in a home on one of the French islands in the Caribbean when I was younger. Everyday, two housekeepers would show up, and very methodically go through each room cleaning and straightening. One morning, I looked out my bedroom window and saw them sweeping the dirt outside to get rid of leaves and debris that had blown onto it during the night. They chatted and laughed quietly with one another. They took great pride in making the house beautiful—even the dirt of the yard! The whole house had a serene quality that made my insides relax. I still think of them when I’m cleaning my own house.
Creating order around you is a gift to yourself. It is one simple way to reconnect your interior and exterior parts that seem to get detached in the presence of disarray. Adding a touch of beauty is even better. Hope your Sabbath is filled with peace.
Shalom,
Jane
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