You may not like the time you live in. You may feel there is nothing good about being here, right now… You may feel everything seems hopeless, in a world run by big business and small politicians only interested in feathering their own nests.
But how about you see this time as an opportunity instead.
Opportunity Knocks
We were all born for a reason. And we are here to learn certain lessons during our lifetime. So “Wintertime” is the perfect time to do that. After all, if we didn’t take stock in winter, how would we ever move forward?
The “gift” in Winter is to have the courage to give up our fight and let winter settle in. Because surrendering to winter gives us time to think about the future, for everything on the plant, in a considered way that is not possible whilst we persist in running Capitalism as our default operating system. And our boot disk is so-called Progress. So continuing to run outdated notions in the hope that we will achieve year on year growth to the detriment of everything else, well that truly does signal a bleak midwinter.
Winter is a time when we can all slow down, reflecting on our relationship with others and with our natural world — acknowledging how its riches, the environment and the poorest people are currently exploited to produce what is really nothing more than fripperies.
Make it a time where we reflect on the things we genuinely need.
To do this, we just need to step away from our false path. There are so many ways we can turn our backs on capitalism and the plunder of the planet. The easiest way is probably to shuck the constan tcommercial tyranny of purchasing that season’s New and Spangly possessions, where marketeers have programmed us with the notion that the latest phone, gadget or fashion trend shows we are people of importance and discernment.
This woeful myth has merely accelerated our destruction of the planet. We ditch perfectly serviceable goods, in order to replace them with the next Oki-Koki 2020, in the false belief it will make us happy.
Actually, all the Oki-Koki 2020 does is suck us (and the resources of the planet) dry.
So now is a time for a spring-cleaning old attitudes.
I would like you to sweep through your house on a pre-Spring reconnoitre. Take out everything that has languished at the bottom of your drawers and cupboards, and think about your relationship to them — taking time to notice just how much “stuff” you have that means precisely nothing to you, stuff that just adds to your clutter. The clothes you’re never going to diet into, the language course you’re never going to finish, the extra bedlinen you bought in the January sales but never used.
Question is, what do you do with everything once you’ve decided what stays and what goes?
Well now, here’s the twist. Most domestic goddesses and spiritual energy gurus will tell you move it along to a charity shop, recycle it, repurpose it. If you need your space back, this is perfectly valid.
No throwing stuff out just to declutter
BUT, I am going to be a bit perverse and argue against (most of) the Kondo-styley decluttering fad. I am putting the case that we do not throw anything away just to declutter.
If we simply throw our “stuff” away, we lose the richness of the past whilst perpetuating the cycle of buying into “newness”, snagging ourselves in its commercial tyranny ever more.
We can keep ourselves free of clutter and the cult of newness by giving away things to others we are certain will use our things well. Or we can use them as resources for our next up-do project: it is amazing how much can be reused if we become less stuck in our thinking about something’s potential purpose.
Think of it… A world where we are all able to both let go of things easily, as well as truly honouring them. Where the past becomes a glorious resource that enriches our lives rather than enslaving us to the eternal call for progress. Perhaps even a world where sharing our surpluses becomes the norm.
Working this way we certainly create a state of Winter.
But it also gives us the time to prepare for a real Spring, one built on the treasures of the past rather than on our wrong thinking. A world where we respect our belongings and treat them — and the land they came — from with respect.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
The process of organising for Spring is hidden within rightminded thinking and action in Winter, a time for us to practise gratitude for the many blessings in our lives.
So we don’t just ditch and run, we look at each item with fresh eyes.
- Is that coat really feeling the love shoved at the back of the wardrobe?
- Would those outgrown toys have more fun at a children’s playgroup than in a box under the stairs?
- Is that book you’ve never read happy to collect dust on a shelf for the next 10 years?
If you’re struggling to release old belongings, don’t beat yourself up. You may well find it easier if you try showing them some respect instead. Hold each item in turn and offer your gratitude to it before deciding whether to place it in the keep, donate or up-do pile.
If you’ve inherited some items, your ancestors will thank you too, showering love on you for honouring them by honouring their belongings…
Think about it. A house full of nothing but abundance, respect and gratitude. And you’re radiating all that out to the world.
Damn but that feels good. And I can feel you from here…
