It is a new year and with that I binge watched Marie Kondo’s Tidying Up series on Netflix. Marie and her translator visit various homes within the Los Angeles area to assist families in getting their homes organized and revitalized. Although I have read the book, seeing it visually has been inspirational. What’s particularly interesting in this show, is it highlights people of various ethnic backgrounds, ages, and life circumstances. Clutter is a universal issue. And since it’s the new year, and I am attempting to move within the next month, I need to get started decluttering.
Last year I attempted to get rid of 365 items, one for each day. I landed at 225ish. Not bad, but not enough. At this point, I am going to try to rid of 365 items from January 1stto May 2nd, my 40thbirthday. So far, I hit 61 items. Not bad for January 13th.
But as I began discarding more and more, I began finding gifts from others that I had not even looked at before. Sometimes I receive so much or end up having so much, I pile it to the side, and don’t even have the chance to appreciate it. This week, I actually took the time to wear three gift items that I have yet to utilize. Sometimes I value these gifts to the point of waiting for the right moment to “premiere” them, but then the moment never comes. And I forget about what was given to me with care and thought.
As I looked closely at the gifts given, particularly two necklaces, I noticed they were given with such care. One even had my initial carved into it, another offered various precious crystals that were well thought out as to what I may need to welcome into my life. I wore one shirt with my beloved foxes with pride. Why did I put these gifts off? My room was full of clutter, I didn’t have space to allow them to shine.
It’s easy to start having negative thoughts about who we are as a friend or family member when we recognize the lack of appreciation and disregard we may have had for what has been given to us. How could we be so thoughtless as a recipient? But it’s never too late to change.
This is going to be a new effort of mine, to actually appreciate gifts that are given to me when they are given to me. Live the joy in the moment, versus waiting for the right moment to come.
It Only Takes A Smile 