She Responded

She Responded

The birds' favorite songs you do not hear,

for their most flamboyant music takes place

when their wings are stretched above the 

trees and they are smoking the opium of

pure freedom. It is healthy for the prisoner

to have faith 

that one day he will again move

about wherever he wants:

feel the wondrous grit of life - less structured -

find all wounds, debts stamped, canceled and paid.

I once asked a bird, "How is it that you fly

in this gravity of darkness?"

She responded, "Love lifts me."

~ Hafiz

Day 13: The Minimalism Game

Day 13 of The Minimalism Game:

Today is a day for recycling 13 Metal tins...

It really surprises me how difficult this is. I was going to MAKE something with these!

I have this voice telling me that I should have found a use for the metal tins, and I probably could have, and my unplanned intention was to use them for some sort of crafty project that never happened.

The reality - each of them were $2-$3 I justified in my mind because I could use the tin for "something" later. Dollars that could be better spent, and empty calories I do not need. Don't misunderstand, I do appreciate that there is the right time and place when an especially strong mint is needed and will continue to be used!

However, I am not going to use the tins someday. More importantly I am not using them now. They are a symbol of - however nicely organized in storage bins - collections of things I do not need or use.

I am setting some criteria for bringing any new, recycled or found "project" items into the house:
- Am I wasting money to get the item in the first place?
- I do have great project ideas and work on them regularly, however I should finish whatever
  great project idea is associated with the items within one month.
- No more stashes of unfinished projects.

The tins are not the only thing taking up space - the unfinished idea takes away something else from me - it drains energy every time I walk by a project unfinished, it takes up space in my mind that should be spent on today, and what really matters. It creates a barrier between me and what is taking place around me,  distracting me from what I want to do, and I use it as a distraction/excuse to keep those things unfinished.

What would a day without "what ifs" and distractions look like, I wonder?
What would a day lived in the moment be like?
My hope is that this "game" will bring me answers to the questions I have.

I sometimes have a very clear vision of what I would like my life, my home, my career to be.
It has to start with taking control of these seemingly small things, like little metal tins...

I don't have any challenge for anyone with this - this is my game to play, and life to live, but if anything speaks to you - I would be interested in hearing about it.

Now I am off to put those tins in the recycling bin for Friday =)

Days 10, 11 & 12: Minimalism Game

Nov. 10th, 11th & 12th of The Game:  Clothing

I washed, dried and piled every piece of clothing I own on a table in the basement and sorted everything out by type. I thought this would take me a week to do, but instead it was done mostly on Sunday.

What I found is a confirmation of what I have been feeling lately - I don't need to buy anything new. I thought this process would take me the week, but found that I have pared down my clothing over the past year, and although it was still too much to keep track of, it was already down by 1/2.

After everything was sorted, I started by taking out everything ripped, wrong-sized, and anything I wore that I really didn't like - either style, fabric, color or how it fit.

I sorted summer, and put it away. Sorted winter and hung anything that could be layered or worn year round in the closet. Everything is organized, has a place to be put away and I like to wear everything I kept. I am leaving this open for six months - if I don't wear the things I kept by June, I will also donate them.

The piles of donations/trash are a combination of shirts, t-shirts, dresses, pants, accessories, pairs of socks, and undergarments.  Days 10, 11 & 12 add up to 33 items. With the previous jacket & sweater and shoe days (17 items) the grand total is 50 pieces trashed or donated out of my closet. Not sacrificing, not any kind of difficult letting go of anything...just the extras and unused. Someone else might be able to these things, because I clearly am not.

Days 8,  9, 10, 11 & 12 = 50 items

What I kept:

Everything - coats, sweaters, dress clothes & casual.

I use a 9 cube for storage of clothes that are not hung: Summer shorts & shirts (1) , t-shirts (1), summer pj's (1), winter pj's (1), undergarments (2), socks (1), gloves & scarves (1), sweats/sweatshirts (1)

I think a good measure for me is that if it can't fit in that cube, something has to go. I need a visual measurement like this to keep on track.

9 - cube storage for all clothes that aren't hung in the closet

The revelation? I wrote 2000 words for my novel today while I was home sick and resting. 2000 words! And I have hours left to write tonight...

I felt that with the letting go of each item, each pile, each vulnerability shared about the items...I created room somehow for creativity and the telling of the story.  So I have great incentive to continue on. At first I was trying just to reach the number on the day, and I still will - but I imagine that when I get to other parts of the house, the numbers will be met easily and in the end the house will hold only the things I use and need, and the story I have held onto for several years will be written.

And after that? There will be room for whatever is next...