… and the question is – are you prepared for the radical version? If you are brave enough to face your belongings, your home and ultimately yourself, then you are brave enough for Marie Kondo‘s The Life Changing magic of tidying up.
The book is written by a young Japanese woman who is … in lack of better words… obsessive and fanatic about organizing, sorting, “decluttering” and tidying. It was published a while ago, so you might have heard of it.
The wonderful thing she has done is instead of letting her obsessiveness become a problem – she has transformed it into a passion, and out of that passion she has created something useful to share with the world. She is giving us a great gift!
In a world so full of things, where we hardly can look in any direction without seeing marketing messages or commercials, where needs we didn’t know we had are created constantly, the number of possessions we own just grows. From basement to attic, in wardrobes and closets, boxes and storage many of us save things we own but do not use. We use things even if we do not like them, just because we have them. We keep things from the past that have played their role already, which keep us stuck in our history. For those who recognize themselves in this scenario, you know this is time-consuming. We are constantly cleaning and tidying. The maintenance and organisation of our homes takes forever and when it’s done we have to start all over again. All the things we have tucked away, we still feel the essence of even if we do not see them. It is a battle against matter, and it makes us very tired.
It is for us this book is written. Gently, lovingly but ruthlessly she guides us through our piles of belongings. Marie Kondo invites us to investigate them and ask the one burning question: Does this belonging of mine create a spark of joy in me?
According to her – it’s all about energy (and I couldn’t agree more!). Every item has a specific energic vibration to it. This energetic imprint depends on many things; it’s history, the matter it is made of, it’s owner’s vibration etc. The items inspiring joy add energy to our lives, the items that do not spark a feeling of aliveness and happiness when being in our presence, drain us. How to decide whether a specific belonging create joy or not, you simply sit down and hold it in your hand for a while and “feel” its energy. Then you need the courage to stay true to and act on that feeling.
Is there a joy percentage?
This is not rocket science in itself, but many of us would have great use of a session with a psycho-therapist and our inner hamster. That would help us understand the motives behind keeping some of our belongings. Even if it seems obvious that we should surround ourselves with things that we love, many of us hang on to possessions for very odd reasons.
It might be out of guilt. We do not dare to get rid of some things we actually do not like, out of fear of hurting someones feelings, being judged, or we feel dependent on their opinion about us.
Maybe we keep some things because of monitary reasons. An imagined or real value of something we do not like, hinders us from getting rid of that which vibrates on a lover level than our peace and contentment.
It might be out of fear of lack, of worry because of a unknown future.
I have a completely crazy fear inside of me of getting rid of fabric – and I suspect it emanates from a memory of a previous lifetime. Old linen cloth, towels that I keep as a reserve of bandage when “the war” comes. They would be possible to boil and I could help the wounded people. It is irrational, it is not very likely that my old linen towels will be available anyway if that fear becomes a reality!
What Marie Kondo instruct us to do – the feeling-part – is not as complicated as it seems. In the book you will get good advise how to use that innate inner knowing that we all have. I will not share more with you about her techniques, that is for you to discover in this beautiful little volume. I wonder if you will agree with me after reading it – even the sentences feel tidy!
I read it myself two years ago, and even started on a draft to share it with you. Finally I decided not to post it, because I realised I wasn’t ready to “walk the talk”. As I so often communicate, there is a energetic harmony between our inner and outer environment. When something changes on an inner level of our being, we see a similar shift in our outer reality too. If we strive to keep things as they always been instead of accepting the change, we become uncomfortable – and will remain so until we are ready to embrace the change. It works the other way arround too (which feng shui is a perfect example of). I am far from done with my spring cleaning, but I can already see and feel the effects of what I have done through so far. There is a sense of relief and calm in those places in my home where only things I really love remains. I also sense a shift in my thoughts and perceptions.
It is such a lovely little book, and I would suggest you to read it even if you do not plan a revolution in your habitat. If you decide to go through all your material possessions and clear out the items which do not make your heart sing, be prepared for the shifts. Your life WILL change! (and it will be for the better 🙂 )
Take care until next time!
With so much love,
Carin
