Wrapping Up 2013
“Besides the noble
art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things
undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of
non-essentials.”
Lin Yutang
The last couple of days
of the year are good ones for cleaning up and clearing out.
Especially since most of us have been in holiday mode for the past
few weeks and the house has been packed with people and food and
such. I don't know about you, but things tend to pile up in my
house—mail gets stacked, everything that folks have carried in is
still right where they left it, and all the projects done during the
holidays are cluttering every horizontal space. There's the tree to
take down and pack away, and lights to remove from inside and out.
Lots of clearing and cleaning that has been neglected. I like to
think of it as closing out the old year to make space for the new.
As you're cleaning up and
clearing out, it's good to consider what is important to keep and
what is not. Pack them separately; then take the unnecessary items to
a thrift store. What is taking up space and gathering dust? In my
case, it is stacks of old textbooks waiting to be delivered to the
Friends of the Library book store. Today, I will box them up and
take them.
And as you're doing this
physical clearing, also consider what is non-essential in your daily
life—what takes time and energy but has no value for you. Are there
people or groups that you anticipate with anxiety instead of
excitement; that make you groan when you realize they're coming up? What sorts of things do you do by rote simply because you've always
done them? Ask yourself if this activity is essential, and if so, for
whom? It's one thing to be involved in activities and causes that are
dear to our hearts, and quite another to be involved simply because
we've always done them. It may be time to respectfully resign. When
we're living on auto pilot there is no energy for anything new, and
no time to discover what might spark for us now. Clearing mental and
emotional space is just as important as clearing physical space.
Wrapping up the year may
involve packing away more than Christmas ornaments and lights. It may
be a good time to open up some sacred space for the new year—space
in your home and in your life. Take some time today to contemplate
what is non-essential in both.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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