Thursday, December 22, 2011

Reflections

Today is my 38th birthday, and with it being so close to the end of the year, my birthday is always a time for reflection. It has become my habit to journal about those thoughts, meditations, and reflections, but following the lead of last year, I wanted to share my thoughts here. Also, like last year, I wanted to share a piece of art that I made stating my rules for the studio. I adapted these from Patti Digh as well as others, and you can read my take on these rules here. Feel free to print this artwork out and post it in your studio or work space.


I am in the process of uncluttering my life. I am amazed out how much stuff - both emotional and physical - has accumulated in my life. When you are in a place long enough, stuff just seems to pile up. The uncluttering began earlier in the year when I moved my studio from the guest bedroom to the garage, and I sorted through so much and got rid of so much. It continued as my wife decided to go through the countless boxes, bins, and bags in our crawl space. And over the last month, I have sorted through old toys, letters, keepsakes, memorabilia, and all sorts of other stuff. I was amazed at what I have held onto for all of these years. I decided to keep only the most treasured and sentimental things, and rid myself of everything else. Most of it went into a number of trash bags, the paper stuff went into the recycling bin, and some if it will go to the second hand store. And all the while, I felt myself clinging to these things and hesitating to get rid of it all. But the realization that it all would just sit in the boxes and bins being all useless and simply taking up space allowed me to let go.

I am just holding onto the most important things and letting go of that which simply does not matter. I am freeing myself of the past that has followed me all of these years and has weighed me down. All of this stuff has taken up space for growth, and I am shedding it and making room. There is still so much more to go through, so much more room to free up, but I am working through it.

What would happen if we simply let go? What if we held onto the most dear pieces and just let go of all the rest? Could we free ourselves and give ourselves some much needed room to grow?

8 comments:

Sharon said...

Can I borrow your list? I feel exactly the same!

Erin Keane said...

Awesome. I will take up your offer and PRINT this gem!

Erin Keane said...

and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Cheryl said...

I recently went thru a purge. I found a lot of junk and a few keepsakes. Amazing how much is junk.

HeARTworks said...

It's always good to pause and assess our life! A blessed Christmas to you and your family! Patsy from
HeARTworks

Amy said...

Good for you Eric! It is a good time to remove all the extra distractions and clutter and make space for the new. Happy Birthday and Happy New Year. I just discovered your blog and love it.

Look Between the Lines said...

I love this site! I am also a journaler and recently started a blog about it. It really helps me out to look at more established blogs, plus it gives me amazing ideas for my own blog! If you have a minute and want to take a look at my blog and give me feedback on it and my pages I would really appreciate it! Congrats on your book! That is one of my goals for my visual journals! www.lookbetweenthelines.com

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