Purge for Presence: The Root of an Organized Environment
What do you see when you look around your home, your office, your car or anywhere in your environment? Do you see chaos, or do you see peace?
I imagine on any given day, particularly with kids living in the house and/or a lot of projects being juggled, you may see different things. Some days, those lucky ones, you look around and see a clean and relatively orderly space. I also imagine that on many days, however, you see all kinds of disorder--toys, clothes, shoes, dirty coffee cups, piles of papers and files, trash waiting to be thrown out, spills that haven't yet been cleaned up, the floor that needs to be done, the piles of laundry waiting to be done, etc.
Have you ever stopped to observe how all of this feels to you? When you walk into your home or office and you are confronted by a mess, by disorganization, how does that feel? How does it affect your mood? And in contrast, when you walk into your space and things are put away, it doesn't look cluttered, there isn't a secret clutter hidden in your closet or under your your desk, and it looks relatively clean, how does that feel? How does that affect your mood? How does each of those situations affect your ability to relax, be present, and breathe? How does it affect your ability enjoy your kids? To concentrate on your work? And how does each of those situations affect your ability to remain calm and present when some sort of struggle, conflict, or stressor develops?
If you're anything like me, the first situation leaves me feeling tense, stressed, irritable, and short. I can't relax because I feel like there are a million things I need to do. I become irritable and impatient much more quickly, over smaller things, and I am much more vulnerable to losing my patience. I'm not fully present. Sometimes I simply have to remove myself completely from the constant assault I feel of tasks to be done, so that I can relax and have fun with my kids or get some work done.
The latter situation, however, leaves me feeling like I can breathe and relax in my space. I can enjoy being there, I can get down on the floor and play with my kids, and I can be present with them because I do not have that constant nagging feeling like I "should" be doing something else. I can work and be productive and get things done. Things feel orderly, organized, and structured. That leaves me feeling organized, balanced, and centered.
Periodically it is good practice to go through our spaces—our homes, cars, offices—and declutter. Let go of what no longer serves you. With each bag that is filled, with each trip to the recycle center or the trash bin, with each donation to those in need, we feel lighter. We relax and breathe, we become more present. We find mental, emotional, and spiritual space we didn’t realize we have.
We cultivate our roots, build our foundations, quiet our minds, balance our emotions, and connect with others and with our spirits. We become happier, we become better parents, more fulfilled and productive workers, and just generally happier and more fulfilled people.
