Clean Sweep: Not Just for "Hoarders"

Packing for Idol last year...

Nothing makes me want to clean up the house more than watching an episode of “Hoarders.”  It motivates me to leap off the couch and start sorting everything in sight.  Bills will be paid, files will be put away and things will be donated and thrown out.  I can scan a room and organize spaces – seeing what can be better arranged or eliminated.  After that, it’s just a matter of following through with the work of actually doing it.

Other clutter is not so easily cleared away.  While looking for a quote on persistence last week, I came across this one from Steve Jobs:

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.  Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.  Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  Everything else is secondary.

WELL ALRIGHTY THEN!  This is worth listening to!  Here’s the thing though – it is not so easy.  I think to do this effectively requires some quiet time.  There are times when it would be tempting to make a decision – just to prove someone else’s opinion wrong.  On the other hand, there are times when someone whom we know cares about us and whose views we greatly respect – and even ask for –  gives us an opinion that confuses us because it just doesn’t seem right.  How about when we like an opinion simply because it represents an easy way to handle something when we know the right thing to do is different?  Wait… this is the “noise” he was talking about, isn’t it.

“In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do.  The worst thing you can do is nothing.”

-       Theodore Roosevelt

Let’s not get lost here.  All the self-help books seem to have a section on meditation, reflection, journaling or some other type of quiet time.  Writing the album was a great exercise in freedom for me.  In order to write it we had to sit there and listen to our inner thoughts – be aware of the things that motivated us.  Then we wrote about those things.  I loved it!  The whole process represents amazing freedom of thought.  The end quote that appears in the CD booklet encapsulates the idea:

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique.  And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.  The world will not have it.  It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions.  It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.  You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work.  You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you.  Keep the channel open… No artist is pleased.  [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time.  There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive…”

-       Martha Graham

Fine.  As I continue to clean up and clear out things, in preparation for the next chapter of my life, I’ll try to listen to myself more.  Decisions have to be made.  Let’s get a move on it.

The world awaits...

photo by Danielle Graham