HOME + HEART
BY RUTH SEEBECK
Do you feel blessed, surrounded by goodness and peace in your own personal environment? Do you feel content and at peace with your surroundings? Or are there a number of undone things that you keep putting off? Even today, we refer to beautiful, peaceful places as Edens. Part of that peace and contentment comes from your internal attitudes, but a portion comes from your atmosphere. So how do you create your own piece of Eden? My husband gets aggravated at stuff : traffic, people, tools, his computer, the remote control... In a very real sense, he practices being angry and upset. None of those things are purposely trying to upset him, but he allows them to. He forgets to pursue peace. It is possible, however, to take control of negative emotions and tell yourself, “No, I seek peace. I will not allow myself to get upset.”
Y ou know how it is; the demands of life, work, family, and commitments crowd out other things that need done but aren’t urgent. Finally, you realize you just can’t stand it — you can’t keep putting things off into the “I’ll get to it sometime” category. That’s often where we relegate housework and other tedious chores. Here’s the problem: your surroundings impact your peace of mind. Your work and living spaces do not just reflect your attitude, they influence it. Cluttered spaces lead to edgy, unsettled feelings.
Look inside. Here’s a revelation: you are at the center of your personal environment. Focus on your blessings and banish all those negative emotions. Look around. Does what you see bless you? Does it make you smile or feel hugged? Or do all the things blend together into clutter and chaos? Clutter is an outward sign of inward turmoil (plus an out-of- control schedule). How much of what you have, do you really need? What if you down-sized, reorganized, and eliminated some of the clutter. Think about it. Don’t you feel better after you’ve cleaned house? Doesn’t the fresh smell and visual appearance make you smile?
Look out. The things you are committed to affect your environment. For instance, I’m on several committees of various organizations. Each of them involves meetings, documents, to-do lists, and, sometimes, personality conflicts. It’s easy to let your calendar get so cluttered with other people’s projects that you no longer have me time — peace time. Here’s a hint: if what you’re doing no longer inspires you, it might be time to get out. Maybe it’s time to evaluate the blessing-versus-stress quotient of that particular commitment. Maybe it’s time to let go.
find your wow factor
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