Decluttering life
Ever been packing to go on a trip, and your suitcase is bursting at the seams? Somehow you managed to just get it zipped, by sitting on it, and cramming and then you look around and realized that you still have more to fit inside of it, to go on your trip.
Ever feel like you could compare your life to a suitcase just brimming, with all the stuff you might need?
We make our packing list, and fill our hearts and minds with what we think is going to be the essentials, "I will only need these particular things", then we see what someone else is doing, and well, we might need the same things they have. So we keep stuffing our suitcase life with more stuff, that we "might" need. Perhaps someone is doing it better then we were so we add just a few things from there suitcase into our own.
I recently started reading 2 books at the same time, One called Present over Perfect, and one Simplicity Parenting.( clink the colored link to see them on Amazon.com) I am so glad I am reading both at the same time because they both are molding together so well. My life is and has been that suitcase stuffed with all the stuff I might need, including emotional wounds. My house is drowning in clutter, my kids' toys have taken over my house.
I need to simplify.
I need to simplify.
But it goes so much deeper then that, there are a few kinds of stuff, our physical stuff, the mental stuff, the emotional stuff, and our faith stuff.
Physical Stuff
Our Physical stuff, our clothing for example. My closet is FULL of clothing, yet, every day I wake up and say..." I have nothing to wear", they don't fit, they don't look good on me, or they are uncomfortable to wear.
I don't know about you, but my kids have so many toys, and yet, I hear so often " I am bored"... Till I clean it all up and guess what the moment I think I am done....they are already playing with it. Why?? Well, When mess covers the floor, and they get up and leave what they were playing with... quite often their thought processes of what they were playing with has stopped, for whatever reason, lunchtime, siblings entering the room etc. By cleaning up the toys, and having fewer toys to play with, actually leaves room in their brains for new thoughts and scenarios playing their minds. By Organizing places for toys to be, and having fewer toys to choose from will actually provide their brain space, to play more. Their brains like ours get overwhelmed. I have seen this time and time again with my children. In our homeschool room, in the playroom and our living room. The moment our living room is clean, they start to build a fort...It drives me bananas.
I have been learning about the space that " PHYSICAL STUFF" takes up space in my brain, as well as my children's brains. The less stuff we have the more room we have in our brains for creativity and action. Some of the happiest people are the people that live with less stuff, the stuff they have could be very nice, just in Less quantity. I hate paper, Newspaper, school papers, Recycling papers, it all is clutter, and it takes up space in my brain, every time I have to clean it up. So gist is, I have to Simplify the amount of "stuff" we have, slowly I have been reducing the number of toys we have, I HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO, one of the key things in reducing the number of toys, especially with kids older than 4, is to have them not there for the most part of reducing. Sacred Stuffies.... is A NO TOUCH ZONE!! I am also going through, all of our closets, cupboards, and junk drawers. This process is for the benefit of our whole family.
This Momma, needs less junk in the trunk, in more than one way. I sit here and type and my desk is covered in School planning stuff the floor is covered in hands-on activities at my feet, physical stuff has rendered me to a place, I have never been before. I feel out of control, and I need air...I walk in my house and I want to walk right back out. It really may not seem that bad to some, but in my mind, I think about what is behind every door, cupboard or otherwise. That thought takes up space in the mental bank, room that I need for my kids, my own joy and satisfaction, and most importantly for my God, my King.
Mental Stuff
I have a confession. I am an overthinker. I create scenarios that have not happened but could happen in my head and do things to keep them from happening. Some call it micromanaging, some call it annoying, and I call it, pure panic. I pack my brain with things that have not even happened. When "bad" stuff does happen, I like to think I have somewhat mentally prepared. My brain is this constant noise machine. I actually drive myself nuts. So let's talk mental stuff a little more. The to-do lists, everyone has them, I am a list maker. I have lists all over the place. However, I lose those lists, regularly, and then have to try to keep those lists mentally. Pay bills, dance practice, book club, make doctor appointment...that reminds me, that was on my list for the day...oops...doctors office closed.
All this remembering, and tasks that we need to do takes up space. Now, life does need to continue, and the lists will remain but creating lists that are attainable and that need to happen, versus the ones that could happen but probably won't. Mental Stuff is the stuff of every day. Most have to stay but remember it takes up space in the brain.
Emotional Stuff
Everyone has lots of stuff in this category. Where there is human life there are emotions. When we lose those we love when we feel broken-hearted, and when fear overtakes us. When we love, laugh, we are creating the important stuff. This is the part of life, that takes up the most space in our brains, then any other in my opinion.
The negative stuff, the hurts, the habits, the depression, the anxiety is usually linked in some way to the emotional stuff. Now, there can be underlying medical imbalances in the brain that cause depression or anxiety. In which case, the emotional stuff often takes up even more valuable space in the brain. Emotions can be controlling, and serve as a hindrance, but they also can bring healing to our hearts and minds as well.
In my life, I would say that my life is usually geared to and from emotions. Hurt is the biggest hurdle in my life. It is a stumbling block over and over again. Hurt leads to distrust, and distrust leads to loneliness. Time and time again I found myself moving forward only to be stopped in my tracks by yet more hurt. My life has, like anyone else seen my share of sadness and loss as well. I think that for myself, once I can voice, my hurt directly or indirectly, I can work towards freeing myself of it, but I must tread lightly, because I may cause hurt as well. Guilt, another emotion that I have plenty of.
For example, I made a promise to my dying mom, I feel I have broken that promise. Whether or not its true, I feel that what I had intended as love, and guidance, was seen as controlling, bossing, and disliking, and resulted in myself being disowned, disassociated and hurt. This has been a reoccurring thing in my life.
Friends once said I was the momma bear, I guess, that has never changed. It's in my DNA. I have tried to shake it, with no success what so ever.
There is one thing about emotions, that I want to make sure, for myself, that is clear, loving, hope, laughing, are never to be pushed out by fear, anger, and guilt. God wants so much more from me, then my hurts. He will take those and did through the death of His Son on the cross, but He wants and desires to be part of the joy's of life, not just when "I need you" moments hit. Emotions are a vital member of the Stuff in our lives.
Negative stuff takes up so much room in our heads, sadness is not bad all the time, nor is anger. But it is when the sadness allows to you give up and when the anger allows you to hurt others just because they hurt you. It is taking up valuable space that is meant for the good stuff and replaces it with even more resentment, guilt, and anger.
The Faith Stuff
The most important of the stuff family. Without this, there is no hope. We are human beings and we have always needed something to believe in. Why?
Because we were meant to be in the garden of Eden, free of sin, with no unbelief at all, because there was no reason to not believe. However, humanity fell. Our lives forever changed. That desire to Believe and choose what we believe in fell into our hands since the fall of man, us human beings we have tried all kinds of things to believe in. Many believe in stuff, physical things "idols". You just have to open a history book and you will find, things like the Stonehenge and Mayan temples, the evidence is clear that this is a huge part of the stuff in life.
My faith in Jesus Christ has given me hope when all other hopes fail. There is such a huge part of who I am, that needs His presence to take up all the empty space. Empty space in our lives gives us the notion that we need to fill it up with the other categories of stuff. I think if we let the Spirit fill those empty spaces, we will not need more physical things, we will not need to fill our brokenness with more negative emotions, the Spirit moves, and so when the stuff that needs to remain or new good stuff needs to be added He will make room in our hearts and minds for that stuff and stand guard of that space, so that the negative stuff cannot dwell in space for too long.
We are called to lay down our burdens, there is a story that a christian children's story and song writer wrote about a little girl that carried all her stuff with her in her pants pockets, and with all that stuff she couldn't run or play like other kids, until one day she goes to the fair that was in town, There was a ride, the upside down turn around machine and she wanted to go on the on the ride, and when she did, she lost all her stuff, but when she got off the ride she discovered that she could walk, and run, and didn't have to waddle anymore. When we free ourselves of some of the stuff, the stuff that keeps us from being with our God, from hearing His small voice calling us to Him, we are missing so much more of the Stuff that God wants us to carry. Joy, Love, understanding, kindness, gentleness, fearlessness, all the things that take up the room, but are not heavy, and when something is not heavy on your head or your heart, there is such peace that can be found. I am only just beginning to find that peace, it may take a lifetime, but I am willing to go through all my stuff, and start to declutter, my home, my head, and my heart, and make room for what God has planned.
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