Woke this morning thinking about stories, not the fictional
kind, the factual ones. Events in the lives of ordinary people. Some stories
are routine and expected. Others are not. A surprise here, a stunned silence
with others, a tear or moment of cherished emotion. Someone touched the heart.
Something reminded me of our humanity.
Driving home late one night from an evening meeting at which
I delivered a talk, I listened to the radio. An interview was in progress.
Radio host had a guest on, a psychologist. His specialty was organization of
space, things, stuff. And the powerful effect that has on a person’s life.
He related a story of a man who had called in to his advice
call-in radio show. The caller said he had a gun poised at his head; he was
distraught. So what magic could he expect from the psychologist?
The host asked a few questions, but strangely focused on
these:
- Describe the basement of your home
- Tell me about your attic
- What condition are your closets
- And finally, paint a word picture for me of your garage
The caller instantly poured out the jumbled, crammed and
disorganized state these four spaces at this man’s home. Probably not a lot
different from most of our personal, closeted spaces in life! But what followed
was a little shocking.
The psychologist told the man to put the gun away, and to
call him once a week to report his progress in cleaning out all of the storage
spaces at his home. He suggested starting with the closets first; toss out the
clothes not worn in the past 9 months or more. Move on to boxes or sacks that
were idly pushed into the back of the closets; see what is in them and toss out
what simply is not needed or valuable.
Next move the attic junk to the garage. Save what you must,
but sort the give-away items for local charities from the garbage-dump and
resolve to trash those items; if needed call a trash remover to haul it all
away.
Next tackle the basement; remove all unneeded items. Sort
them into piles in the garage – save, give away or toss.
Finally, sort through all the items in the garage. As needed
call a hauler to remove the junk to the dump. Call a recycler for those items
that deserve it. And call local charities to take the usable items that will
help another family.
Over an 8 week period, this caller steadily reported his
progress to the radio psychologist. At the end of this period, the caller
reported the following:
- The gun was sold
- The attic was empty; insulation was added where needed!
- The closets were organized and clothing easily accessible for wearing and choice of attire
- Basement was cleared; laundry was bright and cheerful; workshop was orderly; and new space was set aside for hobbies
- The garage now housed the yard equipment and the car.
Of far more importance, the caller reported clear lungs and
clear mind. He could breathe. He could relax. Stress had declined. His family
life was happier. And he had fresh new ideas for how he wanted to live his
life. A future!
Stuff gets in the way of living. Too much, suffocates. In
more ways than one. Clearing it away allows room to grow and live.
This is not a metaphor. This is a true story. Live with what
you must. Dispose of the rest. And live free.
Over the past few days my son-in-law, Dan, helped clear out
our garage attic. Accumulated there was nearly 18 years of stuff. Most of it is
now gone; sorted out; given to charity; out in the garbage. What our garbage
man didn’t take, Dan returned on New Year’s Day and took to his store’s
dumpster. Now our lives are less cluttered. What a great way to start the New
Year! Thanks Dan!
January 4, 2012
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