I look around the house, feeling a little defeated. There are times in our life when dusty shelves and strewn clothes take a back seat over other priorities. This is one of those times.
It doesn’t stop me from judging myself though. A lifetime of conditioning to keep a spic-and-span house no matter what tends to kick in, overriding all other factors, genuine as they might be.
Three weekends have gone by since I brought out the microfiber cloth, the glass cleaner, the furniture polish. Three weeks where other things were far more important to focus on than the organized chaos that has become my home.
I wonder to myself as I find another small but significant part of myself that misses the zen feeling of just keeping things in their rightful place, polishing the furniture, wiping the mirror until I shine back at myself… while I know I need a while longer to sort things out, I actually miss this mundane chore!
I close my eyes and breathe deeply, willing myself to look past the self-induced guilt and judgement. I break it down in my head. I tackle a few shelves that have been particularly catching my eye. In fifteen minutes, they’re cleaned, organized and I feel my spirits lifting instantly.
One surface at a time, one table at a time, I tell myself. It will all be here tomorrow too.
As I look inward, I see the clutter inside me. Too much to do, too little time. I see parts of my life that are encroaching on others, crying for attention over and above things I actually want to do vs the things I have to do.
The proverbial dust is not just on my furniture.
It’s settled on goals and aspirations I had for myself.
On things I wanted to achieve on a personal level.
On a lot of similar other things I would have liked to balance out and prioritize.
On simple pleasures that have been forced to the back burner somewhere.
On wishes, on lazy afternoons, on praying and meditation
It occurs to me I need to do a similar decluttering exercise on my brain.
Break down the overwhelming cacophony that is currently my brain into smaller, manageable chunks. What can I move around? What can I dust off and restore to its rightful place? What can I do to bring back some balance?
The key to decluttering the mind might be simpler than it looks. Wipe off the inertia, the doubts and uncertainty with a strong will, and pick one topic to work on at a time.
It’s slow, it’s painful, it’s a work in progress of a lifetime. But it’s also immensely rewarding.
It starts with small actions, with hope, with strength.
Above all, with the wholehearted acceptance to be prepared to equally feel despair, weakness and darkness. That’s when we dust ourselves off, and start all over again. One surface at a time.
Author’s Note: Image for illustration purposes only generated via AI image generator at firefly.adobe.com