Sunday, February 22, 2015

Living Light

February feels like the longest short month. I've been shut in. Shut in by weather, some worry, and a bit of circumstance. The snow keeps coming and all the piles make it hard to see around life's next corner. Time, opportunity, and sub-zero wind chills make it hard to be out and so I'm in. Life feels like it's closing in and cluttered and sometimes claustrophobic. Everything feels heavier.




So I'm making living lighter my focus this week.  I've had a lot on my plate - like we all do - and then there's the folks who keep bringing their plates to my table. In my head, I know I'm not responsible for clearing or cleaning their dishes, but in my heart, I add them to the stack.  More heavy.

Enough with the heavy.

So how to live lightly?

Honestly.  I'm not sure just yet.  But I aim to find out and I've got six whole days of February left to do it in.  We're on winter break with just about a week's worth of living by design ahead. Plenty of time to clear the clutter. Start a fresh new focus. Any day now, Spring - with its opportunity for new growth - will come knocking on my door.  I want to be ready to fling that door open and breathe deeply.






I need to find a new equilibrium. Work and play and planning. Create and build, balance and bless. Both expect and deliver. Encourage and ask.  Find my way and feel around for the faith I may have lost in these darker days of winter.







First step. Day one. Today: clear some surfaces.

A typical week works havoc on my sense of peace and organizational calm. Life's living lands all over the place. Student journals pile high on my desk - on top of the bills and the calendar and the mail. My desk is the first flat surface to conquer. A nightstand cleared of creams and books and notes and half-finished bottles of water. Ditto the bathroom counters. The kitchen counter. My bedroom floor. Tables.





As Dr. Seuss so famously wrote in The Cat in the Hat

They picked up all the things that were down.

See some space. Open. Dust. Polish. Clean. Place something green and growing. A special frame and photo. Order. Lightness.






I feel lighter already.

Peace, Barbara






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