I was watching the Oprah Show with my mom last week. They did an episode on making your life clutter free. If you know me...well...ummm...then you've seen my room. I will clean the bathroom on my hands and knees, and scrub around the faucet heads of the kitchen sink. My mother taught us to clean the fridge out weekly - every Thursday. The oil has a special spot under the fridge (a cardboard and plastic bag holder to insure that oil doesn't stain the wood). What I am trying to say is that I have been trained to be OCD with the cleaning thing. You use something? You bring it back to it's original state (most definitely a clean one) and you put it back. EVERYTHING has it's place.
I've seen the result of my mother's compulsion in each of my family member's lives. My Dad takes his time to put everything away...all the time. He takes his shirt off and folds it. My oldest sister has a pretty much spotless house...always. My brother does not allow shoes in his house. His two sons make it a little hard to always be tidy, but the house is clean. My little sister collects things...which can cause some clutter but she is more or less clean. One thing is sure: WE ALL KNOW HOW TO CLEAN.
Now let's talk about me. I will clean the kitchen, bathrooms, living room, floors, walls, and garden before I clean my own room. All the clutter comes to my room. Clothes strewn about, books in heaps all over my floor, and paper, paper, paper EVERYWHERE. So I did it. I dared to dig deeper and I found something about myself that I am afraid to face - so naturally, I have decided to blog it(?). I'm the last person on my list. I care about everything and everyone else and when I finish doing that I think of me. I'll clean the kitchen counter before I clean my desk. And it's not just about cleaning, I do it in most all of my relationships. I know it's not a bad thing to care about other people...but to what cost is it to me? I know, I know...maybe you've said this to me...but It's definitely much easier said than done, for someone who has spent a lifetime worrying about other people first. (I get it from my momma.)
Solution:
On Oprah, the guess psychologist (or whatever he was) said something that stuck with me (or maybe Oprah said it). HOME, HEAD, HEART, HIPS. They are all connected. Unless you are homeless (God forbid) your home is a daily and vital part of your life. A cluttered home is either a direct reflection of your head or will be the cause of a cluttered head. They are directly linked. I have lived an entire life in a cluttered room. It may not be dirty or filthy, just cluttered - but to what consequence on my well-being?
But I am getting older. I cannot be complacent any longer. I have done hours of self-analysis and have made some conclusions. I have decided to live clutter free. I will tidy up my space daily (and before anywhere else) and make my space a place where I can relax and enjoy. I am almost certain that clearing my space will help clear my head. If my head is clear than I can work on my heart. This is definitely in reference to my love life (or my non love life) but it is not limited to that. My "heart" is about my relationship with God foremost, family relationships, my friendships, my passions, and my happiness. Now I'm not looking for perfection in any of these categories, but I am looking for improvement. I want to continue working at all of these, as they help me define who I am. I strongly believe that God puts people in my life or in my path to teach me things about myself and grow...and maybe do the same for others.
Onto my hips. Most women (and I can attest) will notice that our home, head, and heart affect our hips. Either you eat when your stressed or you don't eat. It's been said that unhappy women add some inches to their waists. It's not uncommon. When I'm stressed I have terrible eating habits. I probably average 2 small meals a day when I'm stressed. When I'm happy I eat 3 square, healthy, balance, vegetarian meals a day. It usually provides for a healthy weight and a permanent smile on my face. BUT I AM STRESSED. My diet is terrible. I'm not eating my veggies and fruits, I'm not drinking enough water, I'm not spending time preparing foods (mainly cuz MLA doesn't have a stove). And in the end that is just hurting me. So I've acquired a bad habit. If you know me, you know that I've been a health nut ever since I took a mini vacation 3 years ago. My health is vital - my diet is directly linked with my migraines(!). Migraines stress me out. (You see the cycle?)
So here is the plan:
I will keep MY space clean! This will help me think about MYSELF and help me have a place that I know I can always relax in.
I will spend 30 minutes a day on self-reflection (aka meditation). They say, the unexamined life is not worth living.
I will work at understanding all the important relationships in my life. This may be the biggest task - which is why I will take my time :). I have something to learn from everything and everyone...and I'm ready to absorb.
I need to go grocery shopping and start taking care of me! What happened to the health nut!? What happened to 75% raw foods!? what happened to the no junk food!? If I don't take care of me, who will? I'm teetering on the line of being self-less and careless. I have to care about me if I love myself. And I know I love myself, so why am I slacking. I'm definitely starting TODAY! There really is NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT!
Every day is a gift from God. Am I treasuring the gift or tossing it out?
What part of your life could you improve? Are your home, head, heart and hips in balance?
Discuss!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
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1 comments:
"I know it's not a bad thing to care about other people...but to what cost is it to me?"
I've learned (the hard way) that it's not healthy to always put others first, even if making them happy and comfortable, makes me happy.
"They say, the unexamined life is not worth living."
I spent some time thinking/dissecting who I am as a person, what I'm scared of, what I want, steps to obtain my goals, and what was it about the path leading to my goals that actually scared me... I thought and I thought and when the day came, I came to terms with everything (for the most part) and I pressed send (applications)... I woke up the next day MUCH happier, MUCH MUCH stress free. *sigh*
I try to maintain a clean and organized space but others ALWAYS, I mean ALWAYS clutter my room up. I'll clean it monday morning, it's a wreck by monday night. What does that say about my life and emotional state? Hmmmmm. I'm not ready to discerning the meaning behind that part of my life.
During the week last of 08/first week of 09, I had a HORRIBLE case of acid reflux. I'd never had any problems wit acid reflux before and since then. Last week of the year, my house gets turned upside down and a cleaning frenzy ensues. For that week I neglected feeding myself and sleeping properly and instead worked worked and worked to get the house clean so my grandmother could be happy and STFU. Acid reflux is a bitttcchhhh. Anyways, since then, I've tried to take much much better care of myself (eating 3 meals, vitamins, water, supplements)and I've been doing an ok job (I could always do better).
Are my home, head, heart, and hips in balance? They're not in a chaotic state, but they could always better.
P.S. I miss you dumdum!
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