Down-Sizing  Internal Fullness

In the past year I’ve been going through closets, cupboards, and the garage determined to keep only what is of real use and to eliminate the rest. Each time I empty a drawer and donate the unwanted contents to charity, I feel a sense of greater fullness within. I’m struck by how grateful I feel for what I do own and have a greater determination to use it all in creative, hospitable, and vision-achieving ways.

Viewed from a psychoanalytic “defense mechanism” sense, my gleaning and cleaning may be seen as an attempt to counter the fear of scarcity that haunts a consumerist society in any recession/depression era. “See, I must be fine, I’m able to give away what I don’t need.” Though there may be a certain truth to that idea, I think it has more to do with making room within for greater expansion, creativity, and productivity.

For myself, I find that clutter simply gets in the way and takes up time. Truly, the more that I own, the more that I must manage, then the more I feel owned and managed by it. The simpler my life, in terms of things, the more efficiently I am able to use those things I have to serve the enrichment of my interior world.

For instance, to have the books in my study in order better enables me to use them in preparing articles and creative resources for my clients. The better my life is ordered, the better my ability to order and organize my own thinking, to be clear about my goals, and to energetically engage my passion, the clutter no longer drains my energy.

So, let me encourage you to join with me to simplify your life, to keep the energy of your possessions circulating, and to create a place within for the intangible creative process to produce tangible results that serve your mission in this world!