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There is one thing that can really weigh us down in our lives, and that’s all those extra “things” that we accumulate. It’s no wonder we do that — it’s so easy to keep acquiring more and more possessions — plus it makes us feel good — or so we think.

It kind of correlates to the way we can hang onto emotional “baggage” — it’s so difficult to let go of it. One example is the way we can hold on to personal grudges. Those have a way of lasting forever. It can be the same sort of thing with material objects that we feel a compulsion to hang on to, even though they are no longer adding value to our lives. Sometime we hold onto these things because they make us feel more secure — or we find a sense of comfort having them around. It’s true that getting some new “thing” can give us a lift and we feel good having it around. However, isn’t it true that we acquire these material objects in the hope that they’ll satisfy our deep inner longing for fulfillment and satisfaction? The interesting aspect of this is that when we actually start to get rid of some of this “stuff”, we come to realize what an emotional hold our possessions can have over us.

Let’s face it — giving away a gift from a loved one is tough. We feel that the person may be hurt if we do that. Souvenirs are also difficult — we feel that letting them go means the memories of that trip or place will also leave us. It’s also so easy to justify keeping something because it “might come in handy some day”.

But have you ever thought about how allowing your personal space to get so cluttered can mean there’s no longer any room for anything new to enter your life? Holding on to unnecessary possessions often goes hand in hand with holding on to pain, anger, and resentment, and letting go of your material possessions may help you release some of this emotional baggage.

Once you decide to fill your space only with objects that you need — or that will bring you joy, your energy level will grow dramatically. Your memory should improve along with your mental clarity. The attachment to things can interfere with our own happiness.

As the Dalai Lama once said,

As you learn to have a more practical and temporary relationship to objects, positive changes will happen, and you’ll have more space to create the life that you desire.

And, one final quote to close this article ….

(Don’t know if that relates or not — I just love the quote!)

~~~ DBL-R

Oh, come on — it’s okay to have some fun! Where was it that phrase, “Whistle While You Work” came from? Was it in the old movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”? I think so. I can hear the tune as I write this.

If you’re doing some house cleaning, or pulling weeds or painting a cupboard, it can be fun if you are truly interested in what you’re doing. Those may be tasks that we enjoy anyway. However, you can find joy in chores that you don’t particularly care about. It’s really all about attitude. Maybe you could take a slightly different approach to the project — or add some music to the scene — or involve others in your task to make it more enjoyable.

One of the issues in my own life is that when I don’t want to do a certain task, I tend to put it off — I procrastinate — big time. I was reading an article the other day that suggested … “one of the best approaches to an unpleasant task or dull chore is to dive right in and be fully mindful of what it is that you are doing. You may not perceive washing the kitchen floor as enjoyable, but it can be if you view it as a loving act for both yourself and your family. Lose yourself in paying your bills, and thank the universe that you are able to receive the service you are writing that check for. Mending can become a treasure hunt to find the right button and matching thread. And, each morning, see how neatly you can make your bed and take pride in your results.”

I know that one thing that really helps me to get more pleasure is to play some music I like while I work. I also find it helpful to think about things I am grateful for in order to focus my mind on something other than the task at hand.

Look for joy in doing your mundane activities, and they’ll become a source of enjoyment rather than a tolerable duty

~~~ DBL-R

Our lives are so noisy. There is always so much going on — people talking — televisions playing — radios blaring — and all those other distractions that are so closely associated with the stresses in our lives. All of these “noises” create so much distraction that finding a way to truly focus on the inner self — that place where stillness lives — is near impossible.

Why do we allow so much of this noise?

One reason is that it makes it a lot easier to avoid dealing with uncomfortable thoughts and emotions. How often have you given yourself permission to watch some mind-numbing television program just so you don’t have to think about some pressing problem? I know I’ve done it — more times than I’d like to admit.

However, using noise as a distraction hurts more than it helps. What you are doing is numbing yourself to what may be internally bubbling up to the surface for you to look at and heal. Distracting yourself with radio, television, or other forms of avoidance, noisy or not, can prevent you from finding solutions to the stressful issues that haunt you. It’s a way to stay numb to emotions that you think you don’t want to feel. It can make it easier for you to avoid reality.

Using this way to drown out your stressful thoughts and emotions may only end up complicating the problems of your life, because rather than working on solutions, we allow the issues to fester inside of us.

What would happen if rather than resorting to “noises”, we were to, instead, turn to stillness? If we could learn to tune out the distracting “noises” and begin to relish silence, we would be opening ourselves up to whatever we were hiding. We could begin the process of self-exploration and learn to face the frightening issues head-on. In the stillness — in the silence — we can go deeper into our true selves and leave the shallow parts of us behind. Our stronger feelings can find their way to the surface where we can see them, deal with them, and discover ways to quietly put to rest those issues we were hiding in the “noise” .

All we’re doing when we find ways to distract us from our lives, is we’re shielding our selves from ourselves. Once we can escape from the distractions, we’ll be able to know what we need to do. When we’re still, and not busying ourselves with distractions, we can hear the voice of our inner self — the voice where true knowledge exists. It is in the stillness that we can accept and see our angers, our frustrations, our pains, and also find the solutions to them. It is in the stillness that we can grow — where we can become who we truly are.

Here’s another quote to close this article…

~~~ DBL-R