One of the most annoying duties in life is cleaning. Ironically, it’s good for our soul, apparently!
Earlier this week, I loaded the Qashqai with the disassembled sentry shed that we’ve had replaced. I left enough room also to include my office widescreen monitor that decided to break when we returned from Lanzarote. Then, we drove the four miles to the other side of Wigan to the ‘tip’. I can’t call it a recycling centre, the word ‘tip’ is embedded in me for life!
As we left the tip with our now-empty car, we both were happy. It’s like a drug that kicks in when we dispose of stuff we don’t need. The feeling is like nature’s way of giving us a happy pill! We’d unburdened ourself of this pile of old rotting timber panels and a not-so-old piece of technology that would cost more to repair than it cost new. Back home, I found myself wanting to go and look at the back alley where the pile of shed bits had been stored for dumping. A sense of achievement washed over me, leaving a refreshing feeling of good.
I wondered what hormones or chemicals were kicking in to produce this feeling. I couldn’t recall the word, so chose to ask our friend Google! As often happens, I got distracted to an article in the Guardian in which a reporter shares his delight of dumping rubbish. Here’s a quote from his article:
There is a psychic unburdening that comes from visiting the dump. The mind is a house with many rooms. Some are locked. Some are so full of clutter they are barely functional. How mentally freeing it is, finally, to do something about that pile that has been accumulating in the periphery of your vision.
Richard Godwin
Moreso as I’ve got older, I’ve found myself less bothered by possessions and more wanting to get rid of them instead. In this office, I have a large bookcase filled with esoteric books I’ve collected over the years. There are probably five hundred books in total, if not more. I don’t want them any longer. I would love to give them away to a spiritualist church. Honestly, I wouldn’t miss them.
I’ve got Lord knows how many computer units, monitors, tablets, old smartphones, cameras and similar stuff that I’d happily part with. But the excess goes beyond this office. My wardrobe is bulging with far too many clothes. There’s a rack with shirts, trousers, jumpers, and ties that I’ll never wear, truth be known.
My tool shed workshop is crammed with tools, wood, pipes, tubes, boxes of electrical stuff and other things I’ve kept with the belief “I might use it someday.” I keep promising myself that, come the spring, I’ll have a clear-out. But spring comes and goes and the stuff stays where it is!
Humans often have a desire to collect things. Record collections, videos and music CDs, plates, cutlery, towels, bedding, toys, gadgets, books, and even digital files on our digital storage systems. I come from a poor family and believe part of the reason I hoard is because we had little or nothing growing up.
Enough is enough. When we pass, we move to the next life with nothing, nana, zilch. We won’t need any of these accumulated assets. Jane’s parents left tens of thousands of pounds when they passed. Ironically, their lives were frugal and spending money was frowned upon. Why save so much and never get to enjoy it?
As Richard states in his Guardian article, there is a wonderful sensation when we unburden our excess baggage and get rid of stuff we really shouldn’t keep. The same is true for our souls’ too. We need to let go of emotions and memories that act like heavy rucksacks we carry with us every day.
What happened yesterday is now behind us. Consider these events as laying the foundations for our journeys forward. When we drive our cars, we only spend a little bit of time looking in the mirror at what is behind us. We should do the same in life. Yesterday is gone. What happened, happened. FIDO! (Forget It, Drive On).
Offloading our mental baggage is akin to becoming at peace with ourselves. When our spirit and soul is free of such clutter, the relationship is strengthened. People suggest that we all have skeletons in the closet. That may be so. I know I have. But they’re in the closet and they can stay there, thank you very much!
I’m setting a personal goal, no, challenge with myself for next year. Over the year, I’m going to make it my duty to clear stuff out for good, both physical stuff and emotional too. Ironically, the act of doing the former will naturally feed the latter. Think about it!
While our health is allowing us the freedom to, Jane and I spend a lot of time in Lanzarote every year. We travel with 30kg of stuff and we have 40kg permanently stored on the island. That is all we have and that is all we need! Yet we find ourselves wanting nothing. We rarely watch TV on holiday. Shopping is kept to a few things here and there to put us on. Our lives are much simpler and yet more fulfilled spiritually and physically.
As I speak, this office is in dire need of a tidy. If and when I do so, I know I’ll feel better for doing it. That should be the thing to remember – cleaning is cleansing. Another way to consider it is – clearing is required to change direction, or at the very least, making way for progression.