Years ago I visited a friend whose living room had a few pieces of furniture on the floor, most of the rug showing, and a totally bare mantelpiece. I commented on how uncluttered her house was as compared to my own. I had more than a full time job and three small children at the time; their toys strategically dropped for me to trip over, baskets of little girl dresses lying about to be ironed, and everything else visible (in a place with too few closets and places to put things). My friend calmly said "an uncluttered house is a sign of an uncluttered mind." I began to suspect that I had the dreaded 'cluttered mind' for which there is no cure.
Many years later the children are grown up and in houses of their own. I live in a relatively large house, but I still don't have enough space for everything. Nature and I abhor a vacuum.That conversation with my friend came back to me (wherever it was stored amid the clutter of my mind) with the realization that I will never (in this life) have enough room for everything I accumulate. I have a CLUTTERED house as well as a cluttered mind!
Laurence Peter wrote: "If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?" Ah, someone else was on my same path of thought. An empty head never sounded great to me. I found a site that said: "The Cluttered Mind is Resting its mind in hopes of slightly uncluttering it a bit. It will be returning to the uncluttered state on 11/22/07. Please come and visit the site then." Other sites suggested hiring an organizer. I find that is helpful in acute situations but mine is definitely chronic. Within hours of organizing, I am back to clutter. I examined my own problem. I diagnosed myself. A cluttered mind may not have enough space in which to put everything. Since WWII my life has been a blivet: In traditional US Army slang, a blivet was defined as "ten pounds of manure in a five pound bag" (a proverbial description of anything egregiously ugly or unmanageable); it was applied to an unmanageable situation. (Wikipedia)
Meditation works for some people to empty their mind of unwanted thoughts and fill it with "Oo-hm" or something equaling calming. My mind is totally uncooperative. It never empties, nor does my living space. People who have stomach reductions are supposed to be cured from over-eating but many fail to realize the surgery is only step one. Eating habits must also be totally revised. There is a dilemma for me here. Do I want to completely revamp my life and get rid of the glass stored for when I return to making stained glass stuff (when I make space to work on it), the yarn and needles in bags (should I take up knitting again), the oil painting and water color supplies (for when I can get enough time free to return to being artistic), all my hobby and craft stuff, the books I plan to read someday (when I have free time), the CD music I plan to listen to (when we get snowed in as we will when we rid the world of global warming)? (note: only a partial list of my dilemma) This is the external dilemma. The internal one, to empty my mind and stay mentally healthy, is a far greater one. But then, to whom does it matter that I solve it? A dumpster, when I rock off, will solve it for those to whom I pass on the detritus my problem leaves behind.
Many years later the children are grown up and in houses of their own. I live in a relatively large house, but I still don't have enough space for everything. Nature and I abhor a vacuum.That conversation with my friend came back to me (wherever it was stored amid the clutter of my mind) with the realization that I will never (in this life) have enough room for everything I accumulate. I have a CLUTTERED house as well as a cluttered mind!
Laurence Peter wrote: "If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?" Ah, someone else was on my same path of thought. An empty head never sounded great to me. I found a site that said: "The Cluttered Mind is Resting its mind in hopes of slightly uncluttering it a bit. It will be returning to the uncluttered state on 11/22/07. Please come and visit the site then." Other sites suggested hiring an organizer. I find that is helpful in acute situations but mine is definitely chronic. Within hours of organizing, I am back to clutter. I examined my own problem. I diagnosed myself. A cluttered mind may not have enough space in which to put everything. Since WWII my life has been a blivet: In traditional US Army slang, a blivet was defined as "ten pounds of manure in a five pound bag" (a proverbial description of anything egregiously ugly or unmanageable); it was applied to an unmanageable situation. (Wikipedia)
Meditation works for some people to empty their mind of unwanted thoughts and fill it with "Oo-hm" or something equaling calming. My mind is totally uncooperative. It never empties, nor does my living space. People who have stomach reductions are supposed to be cured from over-eating but many fail to realize the surgery is only step one. Eating habits must also be totally revised. There is a dilemma for me here. Do I want to completely revamp my life and get rid of the glass stored for when I return to making stained glass stuff (when I make space to work on it), the yarn and needles in bags (should I take up knitting again), the oil painting and water color supplies (for when I can get enough time free to return to being artistic), all my hobby and craft stuff, the books I plan to read someday (when I have free time), the CD music I plan to listen to (when we get snowed in as we will when we rid the world of global warming)? (note: only a partial list of my dilemma) This is the external dilemma. The internal one, to empty my mind and stay mentally healthy, is a far greater one. But then, to whom does it matter that I solve it? A dumpster, when I rock off, will solve it for those to whom I pass on the detritus my problem leaves behind.
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