I recently went on a little cleaning and organizational spree which focused, for the most part, on our closet at home. Debbie and I have a very good-sized walk-in closet in our bedroom which has been home to a lot of storage tubs and junk over the years. As I began to clean up and organize “my side” of the closet, I realized how much space was actually back there. Pretty soon I was shipping out about one-third of my clothes to good will and creating a new “space” which is completely tucked away and insulated from the rest of the house.
Not too long ago I was reading a book by Jerome Daley called Soul Space. And I was reminded of the content of that book and his description of “clutter” which we often neglect until it out of control. In some strange philosophical way, as I was cleaning out the closet and organizing a fresh clean space...I felt as though I was ridding myself of some internal clutter. And in fact, those two types of clutter are very much connected in my life. Another annual clutter conquering quest I just finished recently had to do with the garage. The garage, from what I’ve been told, is actually meant to store vehicles. Well, somehow our vehicles (or at least my vehicle) often gets displaced from the garage by the accumulation of clutter. This clutter ranges anywhere from dog food, lawncare supplies, trash cans, pop cans, and bicycles, to fishing poles, scrap lumber, old ovens, and the kids’ toys. And just about every October or November...the clutter just becomes overwhelming...and I go on an all-day rampage to clean and organize the garage. Perhaps it’s because I want my car out of the winter elements...perhaps it’s a psychological need to bring order and simplicity to the complexity and chaos. I’m really not sure. (It’s probably a combination of those two reasons and more.)
Back to my new “closet” though. I am really enjoying this new space. In fact, I’m sitting in an old green pseudo-vinyl chair which used to belong to my grandmother with my feet propped up on the almost-matching foot stool. The chair is covered with a cozy alpaca wool blanket I picked up in Ecuador last January. I put up a little shelf to my right which is holding about two dozen books I’ve been wanting to read for the past six months. I have an old two-drawer filing cabinet with a little alarm clock to keep those catnaps from going too long. There’s two 40-watt bulbs above my left shoulder casting the perfect amount of light. On the wall behind me are two of my favorite prints...a lighthouse...and an old galleon of a ship rising on the swell of a foam-capped sea. It is a quiet place...a simple space...it’s my soul space. Do you know what I’m talking about? Perhaps it’s because my life is currently paralleling this pursuit of space. And although it’s going to take more than a day, month, or even year to conquer the clutter which has accumulated in my soul for the past thirty-three years...I have this incredible sense of...space...simplicity...and focus...for the Quest...the Quest of the mystery of life with God.
Do you know what I’m talking about? Do you have that kind of space? I certainly haven’t arrived yet, but let me tell you...it’s a good place to be headed!
No comments:
Post a Comment