Monday, May 31, 2010

Summer (and change) is in the air

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

2 comments:

  1. "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...

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  2. No 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.

    Around 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!

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