Room to Grow

There was barely room for me in the car! I had garbage bags stuffed with bottles and cans in the trunk and rattling away on the passenger side floor and seat. Behind the driver’s seat tilted an old amplifier. A huge comforter, bed skirt, and bags of clothes, shoes, and purses filled up the rest of the backseat.

As I drove down the highway to the thrift shop and bottle depot, my blonde head peered over the steering wheel of a lime green hatchback and I was surrounded by heaps of stuff that I needed to get rid of. It was a lot, and it was just the beginning. My life desperately needs a thorough spring cleaning.

Listen to me read this post:

Letting go can be difficult, but then one day we’re ready to cut ourselves loose from all the junk that’s been dragging us down. We realize, “Hey! These things aren’t helping me anymore. They’re hindering, and I want them gone.” It’s freeing, all this letting go. Releasing useless stuff brings peace of mind and lightness of heart.

That’s where I am this spring. I’m ready to let go of photographs and drums. I’m ready to set free shirts and pants and sandals that I haven’t worn for years. I can’t wait to discard unused appliances, and dishes and cutlery, and VHS tapes. The space in my house is limited and as I prepare to trim down my possessions, I remember that the space in my mind is also limited.

As I start to let go of all these material items, of all this concrete clutter, I can’t help but notice all the mental refuse I carry around. My head is full of a lot junk that I could do without.

I carry around negative thoughts and disturbing memories. Looking at these thoughts and memories doesn’t do me any good. Maybe once they had a lesson for me, but that lesson’s long since been learned. It’s spring now, a fresh new season, and it’s time to leave these unneeded items behind.

It’s easy – and tempting – to carry the negative stuff of the past into my today. It’s so easy to fill my pockets with a million bitter rocks and then trudge along listlessly through life. Pretty soon I’m so heavy with anger, resentment, and sorrow that I can’t move anymore. I get stuck.

I don’t want to be stuck. I don’t want to be weighed down. I want to empty my mental pockets and run in the spring sunshine. Like it was time to recycle all those bottles and cans, now it’s time to exchange pain and regret for a free mind and a lighter heart.

It’s not easy to do. Like cleaning up any big mess it takes time to declutter the heart and mind. It takes time, patience, and work to forgive myself and others. It takes effort to focus on the positive and to remember the happy times. Bit by bit and memory by memory, I’ll sort it out. I’ll keep the good stuff and display it where I can enjoy it, and I’ll work to dispose of what’s been weighing me down and holding me back. This kind of spring cleaning really makes a difference. This kind of spring cleaning gives happiness room to grow.