Occasionally, my seventeen-month-old notices the puzzles that are sitting in the entertainment center and decides she wants to pull them out and play. And by "play," I mean take the pieces out and scatter them across the living room, and then bring out some books that she will angrily grunt at until they are read to her.
When I think she has tired of the puzzles, I decide to try and return them to their proper home. After putting a few pieces back into the big wooden base, she notices what I'm doing, promptly approaches me, and starts taking out the pieces that I have just put in. So I start working faster. And so does she. And soon, I simply give up and leave the pile there until after she goes to bed, because I realize that the entire effort is completely futile. Because of this, my living room is frequently not company-ready. And if anyone were to criticize me for having puzzles out for a toddler, well....they would receive the verbal lashing of their life. At least in my head. Potentially out loud, depending on the level of sleep I'd had the night before.
This same principle seems to apply itself to my clutter. As soon as I've decluttered an entire box of crap...suddenly there's another stack sitting on my desk, just waiting to be put into yet another box..and wait for a few years to go by before it's placed in the garage or on the moving truck. YIKES. I hate this pattern. Hate it.
I don't think this is unlike a lot of problems in life. Ask anyone who has been through a twelve-step program and they will tell you that there are setbacks, cycles, ups-and-downs. That every day they have to start fresh, admitting they have a problem, and that they submit to a higher power for help.
For those folks, there are meetings to go to, people to call in a crisis, coaches, counselors, helpers. For clutterbugs, there are no twelve-steps groups, no meetings, no counselors. Just book after book after book on clutter-busting, that if you spend the time to read, another pile will pop up as if magically while you sat down to read the book...about organizing.
I'm not whining and asking for a 12-step program for people with clutter problems. (Because undoubtedly, one could possibly show up in the world. I know there are other people like me out there.) I'm just saying that no matter who you are or where you've been or where you're going, there are likely to be some things that you do that aren't the best or healthiest things you could do. It could be alcohol, drugs, food, or even clutter. It's just a matter of every day getting up, looking yourself in the mirror and asking God for the strength to make your life a little better instead of backsliding once again.
So I'll let my daughter pull out the puzzles....because no matter what, she's learning. And little by little, so am I.
No comments:
Post a Comment