“I want to simplify my life.” How many of us have said those very words? Most of us would do well to work at uncomplicating, throwing things out, discarding parts of us that need to be discarded.
How much clutter do you have in your life? How many attachments that are unhealthy? How many addictions that draw you away from what you know you should be doing? How many involvements that are destructive? How much “extra stuff” you don’t really need, but cling to nonetheless?
Think of the last time you cleaned out a closet. It was probably a long, hard job, but when you finished, you felt light. You felt free. It’s the same with the involvements, the attachments, and the addictions of life. It’s hard work, but what a difference it makes when, one by one, we shed them.
I have my own battles keeping my life simple. In my office, around the reclining chair where I do my work, I often have stacks of papers and notes. I put things on one little table here, another little table there – and then there’s that wonderful floor where everything else goes. It drives my assistant Susan crazy!
But in all those stacks are important things and unimportant things, all mixed up. On the occasions when I clean up, I throw away quite a bit. As I reduce the clutter I am constantly choosing what is important to me and what isn’t.
In the same way, you can make decisions about what is important to you and what isn’t. That kind of thinking can become part of the way you approach each day. A cluttered life can obscure our deepest desires and needs.
In 12-step programs, a very practical suggestion is “Live one day at a time.” One day at a time! How many of us are distracted by living in the past or in the future?
If living one day at a time is too hard right now, deal with one hour at a time. And if that’s too much, deal with each five-minute segment. With that intense focus, wonderful things will begin to happen. |