Climbing the Clutter Mountain

The last few days I've been on a de-cluttering mission, not just of tangible items (...how many back issues of Southern Living and Our State can one woman save?), but of emotional things as well. It is amazing how much we drag along with us from one day to the next, or in my case year after year! I am set on not bringing anything into forty-six that doesn't add something positive to my journey. Let's face it, no matter what you do, life is difficult enough on its own. Negative, tough, bad, sad, challenging things are going to happen to all of us. Unfortunately, I frequently allow all that junk to pile up until I feel buried alive, which only serves to squish me at the bottom! No more!

So, here I sit, glass of sweet tea nearby to help bolster my resolve, while I "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" bits and pieces of my life and I've gotta confess...it feels really good! I'm wondering why on earth I waited so long to do this until I remember my penchant for gnawing on that bone (...and no, I am not tearing out various pages before putting the magazines into the recycle bag..blink, blink). It's a family curse sewn into my DNA underwear and man does it itch and chafe when it rubs against me! It's not like I can just shed parts of my genetics that I find annoying, like I would articles of clothing when they get too hot (...although wouldn't it be C-O-O-L if we could?). For those of you Zen folks who are already good at living a clutter free existence, you're my hero! As for me, I'll just keep trudging up this mostly self-created mountain of mine, taking bits and pieces off and tossing them aside when they get in the way. Okay, maybe I'll save one or two of the little bits (...like a necklace, random photo or a recipe), but the bulk is so gone! That's progress, right?