"The greatest secret to living a happy and fulfilled life is the realization that everything is created in our minds before it manifests itself in the outer would. We must believe it before we see it. You have to know what you're digging for before X can mark the spot."
Sarah Ban Breathnach (Simple Abundance)
Every guidance-guru I've ever encountered, and believe me, there have been many, has said that the key to contentment in life is recognizing what abundance surrounds you and being grateful for it. Gratitude is the life-orientation that brings happiness. So many of us feel that something is missing, that we are lacking something that if we were to acquire, would fulfill us and create an unending sense of joy within us. Whether it is the category of material goods, or relationships, or work satisfaction, the truth is, we won't be happy as long as we're yearning for something else rather than being aware of and grateful for what we already have. In other words, contentment is an inside job, not contingent upon external things.
If your were to construct a time capsule of your life right now, that would hold symbols of everything that you are grateful for and feel blessed by, my guess is it would be full to the lid. Most of us in the western world have more than we can manage; we find ourselves searching for storage space, and find our closets, drawers and cabinets so full that nothing else will fit in. It that's the case for you, as it is for me, then it's time to clear out--not to throw away, but to give away.
Winter is a great time of year to do some of this clearing out and freeing up. It's a wonderful time to go through closets and drawers and remove clothes that you haven't worn in a year. In Birmingham, we have "My Sister's Closet" and a similar clothing repository for men, where clothes that are in good condition can be donated. They are given away to people in need rather than charging them money for them. I'll bet you have a similar service wherever you are.
I have shelves in my basement that are overflowing with stuff I will never use again--old coffee makers, toaster ovens, boxes of art supplies, collections of beads and buttons, stacks of ceramic tiles left over from a bathroom redo, a thousand screws, nails and bolts left over from long-forgotten projects. Basements and attics are receptacles for things we don't know what to do with. We think we'll deal with them later, but we don't. Maybe you don't have this problem, but if you do, those can be donated too--in fact, most thrift stores will come right to your door and carry it away.
Once things are cleared out, it becomes easier to see what is next for you. What is it you want to manifest in 2020? Can you see it? What are the steps you will need to take to bring that image into the here and now? I'm not talking so much about anything material--we just got rid of that. What I mean is you--pared down to the essence of who you are. No props, no camouflage, just your authentic self, unadorned, without augmentation. What is that self grateful for? What does that self need to feel right with the world? Maybe nothing at all. Maybe that self is what you've been yearning for all along.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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