SOME THINGS HAVE TO GO

 



“The question of what you want to own

is actually the question of how you want to live your life.”

                                          Marie Kondo

                                                                                        

Difficulty to discard. Well, this phrase has a broad connotation. Like, let me check my wardrobe or bookshelves… my medicine box or old magazines and newspapers. Let me check my mental box: Is there a lot of useless stuff – memories of pleasant or unpleasant events in my life – which I still hold on to?

“Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions,” says Barbara Emphill. This means, that if we do not take prompt decisions to discard the useless stuff in our lives – be it visible or invisible – we only end up seeing the clutter pile up, both outside and inside…

So, discard the crap, clear the clutter. And, I am not telling this to you… I am telling this to myself.

Yes, I have quite a lot of clutter both outside and inside… and, I am able to see it. Even after seeing it, if I still have difficulty discarding it, it means, that I want to ‘own’ the clutter. That’s what Marie Kondo’s statement tells us: “The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.”




Everything has a place in life… Some things have to go into the dustbin, immediately. The expired medicines have to be discarded… The old newspapers and magazines need to go to the raddiwala… The clothes, which I have outgrown or unused for years – why are they still there in my closet? What about the angry arguments and painful memories? What about those hurtful comments and toxic people – do I still want to ‘own’ them?

The choice is mine… If I choose to continue owning them, they choose to continue owning me – the quality of my life.




Someone reminded me about this old Zen story… 

When the Sun was setting, two people wanted to cross a river. So, they get on their boat and started rowing it. All night long, they both kept rowing, but couldn’t reach the other side. When the Sun came up in the morning, they could find the reason: They had forgotten to un-rope the boat!

Emma Lee Bach says, “A neat stack of fresh folded clothes can usually uplift the most sombre moods.”

You and I can, certainly, start from there…


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic’s: pixabay

Video: Joshua Becker

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