My favorite author, Anne Lamont, says in her book, Travelling Mercies, Some Thoughts on Faith, “sometimes grief looks like narcolepsy”. To paraphrase – sometimes my approach to writing looks like narcolepsy. I sit down to write something intelligent with a little humor and I nod off at my desk. Therefore, I’ve been a little lax in recent weeks in sustaining these posts.
Besides nap writing, I’ve also noticed other areas where my energy is being depleted. Clutter is one. Cathy and I have been clearing out old files. Well, Cathy has been doing that with her files. I’ve been contemplating cleaning out my old files. Two different approaches to creating more clutter free flow. One – know what you want and take action. The other – contemplate and avoid.
However, I do remember how I’ve opened the door for more energizing flow when I’ve removed old files, old technology (how many old laptops do we need to stack in the basement, and what do all those cords connect to?), as well as friends who drain my energy. My car even performs better when all the dirt and grime are removed. But, knowing the lesson and applying it are sometimes two different things.
When my clutter reaches a certain level, I’m reminded of a former client’s office. Michael is a highly intelligent, highly creative CEO of a technology design firm. He is also quite fond of South African Mousebirds. He allows his birds total freedom in his office. He and his employees wear sweatshirts to protect their clothes from the bird droppings. (The “crappy computer” exclamation often heard in my office has a whole different meaning in his office.) Allowing full access to his birds was only part of the clutter in Mike’s office. Throughout the office were stacks and stacks of files, magazines, books, and extra computer monitors (bird droppings apparently have a tendency to burn out monitors).
When I asked him how he and his staff could work in this environment, he said he believed the birds and the clutter actually helped them be more creative. On the other hand, he approached his creativity at home quite differently. He is also a very accomplished painter. His condo had very little furniture. His living room was totally empty of furniture except for his easel and the single painting he was working on at the time.
While I may question Mike’s belief about the energetic impact of bird droppings on office efficiency, he did recognize and use a different approach for the creative space of his home studio. When it came to painting, Mike recognized that he needed a clutter free zone to be his most creative.
Are you losing energy because of clutter in your life? Where can you reduce the clutter to create an opening for more effective energy to enter? Don’t just contemplate removing all the things that drain or block positive energy, take action now. Allow the opening for new ideas, new friends and more aliveness to enter your life.
Moving to clutter freedom,
Gary
