“I want everything life has to offer,” sounds grand and
embodies the American Dream, but is that what most folks really
want? Can we actually handle living an overabundant life? What
happen to wanting an uncomplicated life, free of stuff, and
junk? There are television programs popping up daily centered on
cleaning out clutter only to bring in new clutter. It is not the
junk or stuff that is the problem, it’s us. The way people think
about themselves and their lives.
Believe it or not most of us are in one of two categories: we
either define our self by how much stuff we have, consequently
we have a lot of stuff; or you can’t release the past, therefore
piling up even more stuff. And if we’re not the stuff junkie,
it’s our spouse, significant other, adult child living at home,
adult grandchild living at home, roommate, friend or pal. Enough
is enough.
It rarely dawns on us that we can only use one pen at a time,
drink one glass of water at a time, eat one bite of food at a
time and wash one body at a time. So why do we insist on buying
cases of soap, boxes of ink pens and crate loads of food. Sam’s
Club other bulk stores have some how reached into the inner
recesses of our brains and convinced us that bigger is better,
more is meaningful. Wake up people, we are storing our hard
earned money in stuff that does not pay interest and in many
cases is completely perishable.
The truth of the matter is not matter how much stuff or junk we
have it is all expendable. It’s a little known fact that you
don’t get out of life alive and you are taking nothing with you.
There is not one single person who left this life with a case of
toilet tissue or a 200 pound box of Tide, honest.
So what’s a stuff junkie to do? Get rid of the stuff. Sell it,
donate it, give it away, but de-clutter your existence. If you
have a bedroom that is cluttered with stuff, move everything out
but the bed and dresser. Live in the room for 30 days before
bringing anything back in and then decide what is missing. This
can be done with any room in your home or apartment. Keep only
the essential items and leave everything else out for 30 days.
Just try it. There is energy in an uncluttered room that does
not exist when the room is filled with junk.
The same is true of books and magazines. Remember you can only
read one book at a time and with the availability of Amazon.com
or Books-a-Million.com you can buy the book again. Keep only
those books and magazines that you refer to often, but if you
have not read it in 30 days, toss it. If the items in the room
are growing dust bunnies and spider webs have taken over, it’s
time for a de-clutter intervention.
The best way to live an abundant life is to not live an
overabundant one.
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