It's summer time! And for some reason, it's always this time of the year (even more so than New Year's) that I feel the need to make goals and changes in my life. Yesterday when I was at the airport, I noticed the man in front of me walking on to the plane with nothing. For all I know he could have checked all of his luggage, but regardless, the idea that he took nothing onto the plane fascinated me. I always have multiple sources of entertainment for the duration of the flight - what I like to think of as the "essentials" for flying - a book, ipod, gum, gossip magazine, maybe a notebook to jot down ideas, and headphones in case a good movie is playing. And the fact that someone would walk onto a plane without any of that seemed intriguing. Let me rewind a bit: two hours before that I was stuck paying overweight baggage charges for one of my suitcases that was ten pounds over the weight limit. I think the combination of these two events was a reminder that it is time to rid my life of the things I don't "need." It's easy to get caught up in buying material possessions - I'll be the first to admit that I love a new pair of shoes, a purse, jewelry, whatever it may be. For some reason, shopping and acquiring new things is fun and exciting. But I think there is a limit. We don't need anything - as a matter of fact this reminds me of the weekend I spent at the monastery. The monks are living their life - fulfilled and happy - with zero things. I think they own the robes they wear and that's about it. And somehow they manage to get by. My point is this: I'm going to take note of the things that are cluttering my suitcase, and my life, and try to weed them out slowly but surely. I am not just talking about material possessions either - I've recognized that some of the things I need to remove from my life are poor habits or an over packed schedule. And there's no better time than now! I'm going to keep a running list of what I come up with and post it at a later date.
How about you - any clutter in your own life that you'd like to remove?
"The externals are simply so many props; everything we need is within us" - Etty Hillesum
"She's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" I wasn't worried though, because I knew how busy you've been....now that you're back in the summer groove, hopefully those creative juices will be flowing again. Clutter that I would like to remove? Yes, I frequently find that I can clutter my mind with thoughts of the past and of the future. I am working on being present in this moment...
ReplyDeleteNo more soccer coaching for me. It's been a great run -- coaching since 2005 -- ending it in a great way with my U12 girls team going undefeated the entire year (fall and spring:). With an incoming high school student I'll want the extra time to devote to him and the other two boys.
ReplyDeleteAround the house, I spent a good part of the winter and spring decluttering rooms. It's amazing how fast things stack up if you let it!