Making It Simpler

As you work on your own, you may feel compelled to see everything in your space and want to shut down. But come back to the item in your hands. It's just you and this thing.

It takes some practice. We're not encouraged to take this much interest in our living space. Mostly we're taught how to add things to it, and be distracted by all the stuff.

This is a quiet approach. You may experience it as meditative. Your mind can get quieter when you simplify what you're doing while checking in with yourself.

Pick up that item, hold it in your hands, take a breath and ask, "Am I still liking and using this, or not?" From this quieter space, you're looking for the "Yes" or "No" feeling.

I remember a client who had been feeling overwhelmed by the piles of things in her kitchen. There was barely enough room for her to stand. I had her close her eyes and put her hands on her heart. I told her she was the only thing in the room that mattered.

I said in order for things to stay, they had to fully support her. I took a coffee mug from a cabinet. I had her hold the mug. I asked how it felt. She said it felt heavy. I asked if she wanted to let it go. She said she did. We did that with about a dozen more coffee mugs. She ended up keeping two. She looked at what she kept and felt happy about her choices.