the gift in the chaos
When we begin to realize that we are a reflection of our experience, being human certainly evokes some interesting interior, landscape and lifestyle design possibilities. We come into this world with an agenda. This is different for each of us. Although you may at times find yourself in a place of confusion, disarray, disharmony or just plain exhausted, our thoughts, feelings and experiences are, in essence, indicators that we are not in alignment with what is innately our true guidance.
As Annette Noontill alerts us to in “The Body is the Barometer to the Soul”, our body is our physical responder to our environment, and our emotions are the indicators that our ‘radar’ is functioning as it is designed to do. We interpret our space via all our senses; our response to our experiences expressed through a vocabulary of reasons that justify our environmental dramas.
What do I mean by this?
As individuals, we justify the thought process that validates our environmental or external experiences; those experiences that we interpret are happening outside of us.
We know intellectually that living in a cluttered space impacts. We feel this physically as our senses interpret our surroundings and our mind attempts to rationalize the signals. Though acceptance, complacency, disregard, denial may temporarily detach us from a clutter reality, the impact of our environment infiltrates our psyche, wellbeing, sense of self and others, through our behaviour, thoughts and words always; distracting us from being at peace and living the harmony dream.
How easy is it to create a story that shifts the reason for our feelings (blame) 0n the moon cycles, the rain or genetics, to others or anything outside of ourselves?
As an exercise, I have created this to help you determine how you relate to a space that is relevant to you. You can repeat this process as often as you like. Go easy on yourself and enjoy the journey, and see every step as a Gift to be more of YOU.
To measure the impact of your space on your psyche/ wellness, choose a room in your home or workplace that you feel could do with a clean out/ defrag/ realignment/ refresh.
Follow these simple steps to change your relationship with this room.
The result is enlightening, liberating and often life changing. Take a photo of the area before you start, and more if you like as you progress. Be the observer.
1. Acknowledge that you have created it to be how it is, by your actions or by allowing the actions of others.
2. Feel grateful for everything.
3. Sit amongst it with your eyes closed for at least 5 minutes and feel the power of it.
4. Ask yourself for any reasons why it should remain this way. (take a moment to write these down if that works for you, then close your eyes and connect back with the feeling)
5. What is your investment in this clutter?
6. Ask yourself for any reasons why it should change.
7. What would you gain from letting go of any of it?
8. What in you, needs to change to allow it to be more fun, healthy, free of limitations, and how long will you need to reach this conclusion?
9. Open your eyes and select one item that you could put into a box for recycling. Choose something else you could pay forward to someone who would value it more highly, and a third item that is well past its used by date.
10. Sit back and notice how this simple process makes you feel.
11. Write down any feelings, thoughts that come to mind as you repeat the steps.
12. Repeat the process one-step at a time. Depending on the extent of the clutter, each step can take minutes days or even weeks.
The process is what is important. Every time you feel some resistance, honour the feeling, write it down and let it go. You have taken a lifetime to get to this point so go easy on yourself.
When you have made significant progress, take another photo.
Look back at where you started and note your feelings. Give yourself credit for embracing this opportunity. Long-term change only happens when we own the process that leads to sustainable shifts in beliefs and actions. For something a little different, see your car as room. Enjoy the journey.