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Deal with the clutter

Do not talk much about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring. (Proverbs 27:1)

I used to spend a whole lot of time daydreaming about something 'way in the future' that I would want to accomplish or a place I'd like to visit. The problem with 'way in the future' daydreaming is that we don't always know our future, nor are we even guaranteed that future! Put all your eggs in that proverbial 'future' basket and you might just never accomplish much! I have learned over the years that life is not assured to us tomorrow, nor is the health or ability to accomplish that 'future task'. I have taken care of strapping young men left in persistent vegetative states because of some freak accident. As I glance on the frailty of their bodies in those hospital beds and wheelchairs, I recount the truth that our days are never guaranteed. I have stood by while life drained from the bodies of those fighting cancer with every last ounce of willpower they could muster, only to see them come to the reality their dreams of healing may never be realized. It is crushing, to say the least. What we choose to do with today is what makes the difference, my friend, not so much what we dream about for all those 'tomorrows' we hope to see at some point.

Rather than daydreaming about the things I would like to accomplish tomorrow, I am choosing to focus on what it is I can accomplish today. In fact, when someone asks me what my plans are, I really cannot answer that definitively. Yes, I still want to hit my favorite fishing hole way more than I do, or send time with the kids, or craft some project in the shop. I don't count on those opportunities - but grab them up when they come. What has happened to change my perspective? I have chosen to live the best life I can live today - because that is all I am given. If I am given a new day, then I will live that day as well as I am able to live it, but I don't put off for the future those things that I am able to do today. As I write this today, I am sitting with all the furniture pushed into the middle of each room, nothing on the walls, everything off the soffits, and in a general state of 'chaos'. Why? The painters start the task of refreshing my home tomorrow. It is a task I had to put off while caring for mom's end of life needs, but today is the day. This is the time. 

In the process, do you know what I am doing - I am actively purging things from my life that are merely 'clutter'. Why? The clutter just complicates life. It gets in the way, gathers all kind of 'debris' and then it isn't healthy for us any longer. Life has a way of getting pretty complicated, allowing things to just become 'common-place' and taking us space in our lives. If we only allow things into our lives that 'add to' our lives, then we will deal with less complications and believe it or not, we will have 'more space' for the things that matter. That may seem a little simplistic, but it is true. My next week's for is cut out for me as I go through things, reassembling all the furnishings and rehanging pictures. Yet, I am looking forward to it because everything will be fresh and clean again! It will be almost "new" because I have decluttered so much.

I wonder what we are putting off 'dealing with' in our lives today that we are counting on doing 'tomorrow'. It could be dealing with a riff in a relationship, or taking on a big task we know will create some 'chaos' in our lives. Whatever it is, begin today to deal with what you can accomplish today - don't leave off for tomorrow what you can take care of today. Keep the 'clutter' of life from taking up space in your life and you might just be surprised how little 'debris' there will be that will attach itself! Just sayin!
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