Sunny Days, Heat Waves and the Journey to Simplicity

The last few posts have been about rainy days and then, SUDDENLY, the sun came out and in my eagerness to enjoy sunny day activities I haven’t had time to write……

Rainy days are good for many things including taking the time to purge your house.  You know, sorting through mounds of stuff (mainly paper and craft supplies in my home) and realizing (with some amazement followed by some excitement) that you don’t need that stuff.  Some of it I thought I already threw out.  Some of it I didn’t know existed.  Some of it I had been looking for some time ago.  Voila, there is was, right in front of me in one of the various piles of stuff surrounding me on the floor.  Toss (no doubt)  Should toss (but not sure) Keep (but needs to be sorted) and my favorite pile What is this stuff anyway?

Nico the kitty cat likes to sort and purge.  It is like a kitty cat obstacle course that he enjoys running through. Also, he has free reign to chew on stuff he normally is not allowed to, since it is going in the garbage anyway.

In my life and in the lives of many of my friends, it is a season of purging.  For various reasons:

1) because it has been raining so much, leaving us indoors and feeling crowded
2) because we are running out of space
3) because we want to buy more stuff and have no where to put it

But most of all, for me:

4)  Because God has shown me that clutter in my physical space as well as in my mind and my spirit keeps me from enjoying my walk/relationship with Him.

I get so much enjoyment from purging and cleaning and organizing.  Not so much at the time, but afterward, when I look around and things look clean and neat and I don’t need to spend time looking for stuff I need or cleaning endless stuff that I never use – simplicity.

I also long for that clutter free mind.  A mind that is quiet and still.  That focuses on this moment, not the 100, 000 moments ahead.  The one that attends to what it sees, hears, smells, feels NOW.

That is not as easy to achieve as purging your house.  It requires a different plan all together.

1) Wait 
          Walk more slowly, think before you speak, slow down
2) Listen
          To your spirit, to your body, to your mind, to those around you
3) Take the time
          Take the extra 5 minutes to drink your tea, swing on the swing, write your blog, read a few extra    
           paragraphs
4) Say no 
          Declutter your schedule – too many responsibilities is equivalent to saving clothes that you KNOW              
          you will never fit into again and/or will never be fashionable again
5) Be gentle on yourself and those around you
          It is OK if there are dishes in the sink, if the dust bunnies are taking over you home and you haven’t
          had time to do laundry.  It is not OK if you miss that unexpected conversation, that sunset or that  
          moment holding hands or that impromptu dance around the kitchen.
6) Pray
           Ask the Father to guide and direct your thoughts and to direct your path and your activities.

Well, that wasn’t the direction i was heading in……you really never know where the journey will lead 🙂

Will continue on in the next post with some pictures of sunny day blessings and the path to simplicity in taking the time to do the things we enjoy 🙂