My client asked if activities could be clutter.
I said that any activity in your life that doesn't serve you is clutter. I asked her to tell me about her activities.
She told me about a dance group that she was a part of. She lit up and said she loved being a member.
Then my client told me about a spiritual group she participated in. The light went out in her face. She started to hunch over. She looked tired and older.
I immediately told her how she transformed when she told me about the spiritual group.
She said she used to like the meetings, but now had to force herself to attend. She pushed herself in a way that reminded her of her mother. She said it felt brutal and violent.
She said attendance had dropped at the meetings and she felt obliged to go and make those who still attended happy. She said thinking of not going made her feel guilty.
I said that attending the meetings was taking a toll on her. She was going to the meetings to take care of others needs at the expense of her own. The meetings didn't give her any joy.
She felt that if she took care of herself, that would be egotistical.
I said that taking care of herself is her job. It's our job to remove ourselves from situations that cause us pain.
No one benefits when we take one for the team. We end up resenting the people that we hurt ourselves over. The others on some level feel our pain and anger. It creates a distance between everyone.
I said that it was okay to say no to an activity that hurts you. It was her right. By taking herself out of a harmful situation, she would feel better.
She liked the idea of taking care of herself.
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I'm facilitating a Clutter Busting Workshop, June 22nd, at the Heartwood Center in Evanston, IL. It's from 1 to 3:30 PM.
It's an opportunity to go deep with the clutter busting process. People bring their clutter to the workshop and I help them let go in front of the group. I guide them through the process of how to take an honest and kind look through what's in their life. It's a shared experience because each person learns how to let go by going through the process themselves and watching others do the same. It's a very supportive environment.
People attending will learn to:
•Recognize physical and non-physical clutter in their life.
•Remove clutter and become comfortable with openness in their space.
•Make their home, office, and life places they will cherish.
•Release old attachments that no longer serve them.
For more info.