At the start of this year, I found myself going on an organization tear quite unlike any I’d been on before. I felt an urge to clean up and clear out. To streamline and simplify. To bring order to all areas of my life.
The feeling came from a place deep within, and it felt different than it ever had before. (Yes, I’ve organized before.) When I told a friend, she said, “Maria, that makes perfect sense. You are trying to make room and space in your life for something new.”
“Aha!” I said to myself. “That’s it. That feels right.”
It felt like my desire was about something bigger than simply organizing. It felt like it was about getting grounded and balanced. Clearing out my physical space allows me to pave way for clearing out my emotional space. It helps me see what’s right in front of me so that I can ask myself, “What do I really want in my life? What can I remove, so that I can I make room?"
As I wrote at the start of this year, 2020 feels different to me. It feels big. It feels important. It feels consequential. It feels like it’s going to be one of those years that, five or ten years from now, people will ask, “What was that like? Where were you? What did you do or say? Tell me how it felt…”
There is already a lot to tell, but I know more is coming. I just feel it. That’s why I want to be grounded, calm, and clear. I want to clear out what’s not serving me anymore. I want to focus on what matters most. I want to distance myself from stuff that really doesn’t matter. I want to simplify and streamline so I can know what I need to know, when I need to know it.
I find myself in a space of actively paying attention. I’m paying close attention to what I’m doing at work, and how I’m feeling about what I’m doing. I find myself paying attention to how my home feels—the home I live in, and my interior home within.
I find myself watching and listening to the news and reminding myself to make up my own mind about what I’m hearing or witnessing. This is a time for bearing witness, but also for speaking up and making moves. And you can’t make a move of any kind if you feel weighed down, confused, or unbalanced.
So, do yourself a favor and take a moment to read this famous Hopi Elders poem. It's one of my favorites because it’s so wise, so grounded, so practical, so true.
"Hopi Elders Speak"
You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered…
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for your leader.
Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, “This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.
And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.
The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word ’struggle’ from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
Ask yourself these questions. Pay attention to how you feel. Maybe there are projects you started that are weighing you down, but that weren’t meant to see the light of day after all. (Sometimes it’s better to just move on.) Maybe there are relationships that are taking up more energy than they’re worth. Maybe you’ve simply said “yes” too many times, when you should have said “no” or “not right now.”
Far too often when we feel a void, or a need to clean out, we just end up filling our lives with more. Rather than piling onto your list, ask yourself what you can eliminate to give yourself space to breathe, focus, and listen to what you really want.
After all, you can only hear your inner voice if you make space to really listen. And that inner voice is what truly what matters most. It can tell you who and what matters most. Let it guide you forward this year. It will tell you what you need to know, what to do. It will tell you what your heart wants.
There’s a lot of noise out there, but you don’t have to listen. Clear it out and tune your dial to the voice that's speaking to you within.
Love,
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