The Exercise

[qos]

Okay. . . I did it.
I probably didn't do it as deeply as I might have, but on some assignments -- whatever the venue -- sometimes "good enough" is indeed enough.

The point of the exercise was to look at possessions: which ones have positive, energy-lifting associations, and which have negative, energy-depressing associations.

What I found wasn't particularly earth-shattering. . . mostly that the 'things' I have around me, the stuff that is eye-catching, anyway, is almost entirely positive. I should also mention that I didn't even bother to go into my yellow room: what was supposed to have been a spacious area for exercise and creative pursuits which has been nothing but a place for stuff to accumulate.

But I don't have things around me that have bad memories, or which I display just to make someone else feel good, or to impress others. (There are advantages to being territorial: one of them is that my space is my space, and if you don't like it, you don't have to come round.)

I think that for me the value was more in actually using the technique, so I can keep it in my 'toolbox' as I continue to work on my relationship with my house. As I'm de-cluttering, I should be pausing over the various 'things' I'm moving, to really find out how I feel about them. Does a particular object contribute to a good feeling in my house, or does it bring my energy down? Or is it neutral?

Comments

[toesontheground.livejournal.com]

It's such a luxury, really, to have enough space and money that you can have too much stuff and a room full of junk.

It feels banal to sugest, but i wonder if there's a connection between the clutter in the yellow room and other creative frustrations?

[qos.livejournal.com]

The icon on this comment is about me, not you, Barry. (I need to ask the artist for a version without text. . .)

Thanks for the Clue-by-four between the eyes regarding the connection with the state of the yellow room and my creativity. That should have occurred to me, but did not.

And you're right about the degree of luxury and prosperity that allows such stuff to accumulate. I've become rather ashamed of it, and my daughter and I have been talking more and more about what it means to have so much stuff we can't move through a room while others have nothing.

Although I do need to point out that most of the stuff in that room is the result of her being showered with gifts by her grandparents, as the only grandchild on both sides of the family.

And there's been some progress with my mom, who used to be the worst offender, after she's helped us clear out that room a few times. She's seen what happens to all those 'things' she buys, and it's done a lot more to convince her to throttle back than any of my pleas.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_storyteller_/]

I myself went from being a aesteic in the last year to being surrounded by things I would have never considered owning in the past. Jae being a pack rat and me never throwing away paperwork creates quite a stagnation. A friend of mine used to tell me that keeping old bills in the house brought bad energy, the same with old clothes. "Only keep what you need."

If only it was that simple. It is so hard to proritize a time to manage the clutter, but you seem to have found a way that works for you. It makes sense to me also and I am pretty sure I could do the exercise... maybe I should teach it to Jae... hmmm...

[qos.livejournal.com]

Balancing the "what to keep" is a challenge in any house-sharing relationship, as far as I can tell.

One point the author makes is that "clutter" differs from person to person. Different people have different kinds of things that are positive. But it does sound like it would be a useful exercise for Jae -- or for both of you to do together.

She might enjoy the book -- Soul Coaching, by Denise Linn -- particularly at this transition point in her life. It might help her clarify some things that are in conflict within her right now.