Losing a Ton!!

I’ve been a pack rat for years, decades, in fact, and my friend came up with the idea of joining together with twenty people such that each person had the same goal of getting rid of ten pounds each day for ten days. At the end of 10 days, we, as a group would have lost a ton!

My friend offered great ideas and suggestions. She suggested that we save a location to work on that would be easy to get rid of ten pounds in a day, for a day when we might not be feeling well or were too busy. She encouraged us to wait until we could find ten consecutive days before we started. She shared a list of sites that would take clothing, electronics, food, baby clothes, household furniture, household items, and other things. She also included some encouraging articles about simplifying, streamlining, and getting rid of items we no longer needed or wanted.

I started this in January and got rid of or set aside over 124 pounds of clothes, household items, items I would “look at someday,” old food, food I purchased but no longer planned to use, Christmas tree lights that no longer worked, old telephone books, an unopened box with hanging files for a file drawer, a small lamp, a stash of plastic containers that I had saved for years, etc. It was wonderful to finally get rid of things I no longer needed or used and finding places to give the new or gently-used items to people who would enjoy or appreciate them.

I especially liked the daily focus – 10 pounds. That was it. The goal of ten pounds allowed me to have a limit so I could stop and leave something for the following day, without spending the whole day on this project. I also liked the encouragement and camaraderie and helpful tips shared by other group members on the private fb group of “Lose a Ton!” I didn’t feel like I was doing this alone. Some people posted, before and after pictures that were encouraging. Others shared an area they were working on – the refrigerator or freezer, under their bed, their VHS, DVD, or book collection, sheet music, their kitchen cupboards, under the sink - that spurred some of us on to do the same.

Interestingly, after my ten days were over, I was enjoying this so much that I chose to continue, for another fourteen days. My friend said, “As long as you’re on a roll, keep going!” After that, I took off some Sundays. I even lowered the number of pounds per day, knowing I could always get rid of more.

Another group member wrote and said, “It’s kind of addicting.” She’s right… I am actually looking forward to cleaning up areas in my home which have been packed tightly to accommodate more and more. No more!

And, what do you know? I may even lose a ton on my own!

Precious Linda, c. 2014

Postscript:

I completed my ten days in January. Since I began, I’ve gotten rid of or set aside over 478 pounds!! The “set-aside” items will go towards a couple’s upcoming rummage sale to raise funds for the adoption of their first baby. This has been a great start for me.

I’ve slowed down a bit. I think I especially liked the group idea, effort, and encouragement. I also noticed that working on this project for ten, consecutive days, helped keep me focused on “looking” for items around the house for what I could get rid of, rather than my normal way of overlooking something, even as I walked right past it.

As the rummage sale gets closer, I will probably start up again so I can end with a “grand finish!” (Or, is that two grand?) Maybe, I actually WILL lose a ton, on my own!!

Space and Margins - Providing Room for Grace to Grow

How often do we leave extra time for reaching our destination or for completing a task?

How often do I wait until the last minute, in order to provide a “built-in” deadline?

How often do I procrastinate because I think, “Whatever I am planning to do won’t be good enough?”

Am I missing out on something? Am I allowing room for grace to grow in my life and look for opportunities to share grace with others?

Without leaving space and margins of time and energy, when planning my day and executing it, I believe, I lose the ability to exhibit responsible “self-control” over what happens to me and my thoughts, both internally and externally. I give up my ability to thoughtfully choose what I think or what I will do and, instead, become reactive to what happens to me, as if I am a victim of my circumstances or “lack of time.” I also give up responsibility for my emotional well-being. I no longer leave room to deal with, or even to accept, my emotions and what’s happening to me and do not see or accept interruptions as opportunities for personal growth and expressions of faith and grace but, rather, as if someone threw a monkey wrench in the works.

Without space or margins, I am only living “on the fly,” like a hamster on a wheel, mindlessly trying to catch something that is impossible to catch, or trying to do something that is impossible to do, such as taking on too many tasks or trying to achieve too many goals, for which there is not enough time to complete. I have “put off  until tomorrow” something that I had hoped to do today, only to find out that “tomorrow” already has enough to do. It’s as if I am trying to “borrow time” and end up with a “credit card debt” of time that can never be paid back.

Why do I do this? Could it be that being “busy” with anything is a way to distract me from conflicting thoughts or feelings, from the present or the past, that I prefer to keep pacified, at bay, caged up, or buried? I am slowly realizing that until I allow myself to feel the feelings that I am avoiding, they will not go away, but will remain “harbored” in my body, as an emotional cancer, eating away at my mind, my heart, and my soul, causing havoc within my spirit.

Now, as I contemplate and experience my day, I am learning to pay attention to the feelings that surface and to determine whether they relate to the present moment or to something from the past. When I choose to identify the feelings and allow them to flow, like water over a dam, they actually dissipate and pass on by, leaving me relaxed, calm, peaceful, and able to understand the thoughts behind them and make choices without fear or angst. My spirit is free to soar again in a state of peace and love, and I am able to show grace and compassion to myself and to others.

Precious Linda, c. 2013

the self-critic and the judge

snippets of thoughts, playful words

a hodgepodge of intentions

never meeting hands, feet, and brain

at the same time

a clutter of ideas and hopes

churning and simmering

boil over and become

a burnt offering of tasty intentions

swirls of thoughts

like colors on a palette

that never reach canvas                                              

plans, hopes, ideas

great ideas

waiting for a brush stroke,

yearning to burst forth

into radiant strokes of beauty,

deep shades of passion,

contrasting with darker strokes

of fear, loss, and pain

I can’t. I won’t.

I feel overwhelmed,   

trembling with excitement and hope,

mixed with fear.

What if

I make a mistake,

share an inappropriate thought,

get laughed at,

ridiculed, or criticized?

I must write and paint

words and colors deep within,

waiting to burst forth

from within my soul

onto the canvas before me.

Now, I must decide

whether to share this canvas

with you,

with others,

or keep it for my eyes only.

I must choose

to be or not to be

myself

on the canvas of life

with you

or

nothing at all

to you.

Precious Linda, c. 2012