For months, I walked past my guest room and cringed every time I peered through the doorway. There were empty boxes stacked high in the corners, garbage bags piled with unwanted clothes, old bed linens and lamps parts strewn all around. Clutter everywhere.
It was terrible.
In the beginning, the room was welcoming with a simple bed, covered in beautiful linens. But I just kept adding more and more stuff I knew needed to go. Soon, the room was no longer welcoming and I couldn’t see the things that ever made it beautiful.
Clutter has a way of taking away from the beauty of any room. I guess it’s because there are so many things that can become distractions.
I think our minds can be a lot like those cluttered rooms. They’re often filled with so many negative thoughts, self-serving ideas and trauma from experiences that it’s hard to see anything else.
It’s hard to see how the person right in front of us may be trying to help us, how their words can encourage us, or how their story can teach us.
And more importantly, it’s hard to see the wonder of God’s person or find hope in the promises He gives.
Decluttering our minds is all about clearing away the thoughts and ideas that can breed ugliness in us or distract us on the road to becoming better. And it’s about leaving room for the inspiration that brings beauty into our lives.
Sometimes it takes leaving the toxic relationships, avoiding certain environments, physically getting rid of things, or letting go of some unnecessary commitments. And it can take a lot of time and effort. But I believe it’s worth it…to get to the good stuff.
This is Day 5 of the series, 31 Days of Inspired Living. Join me over the next four weeks as I write about what I think it looks like to find the inspiration that makes us better. I’ll also offer some encouragement for your journey. In case you missed a day, you can find previous posts in the series here.
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Very inspiring! I love the idea of being a minimalist and reducing clutter in our life. I have been on a mission to declutter my life materially and electronically.
From a material perspective, I’ve started a twice yearly spring (and fall) cleaning exercise where I get rid of things I haven’ used since the last spring cleaning.
From an electronic perspective, having notes scattered about just adds stress to life. I decided to use an app to help with electronic decluttering: http://www.weretiredearly.com/Blog/2015/10/01/password-manager-app-amemoryjog-review/
Best of luck, great article!
Thank you! am so you were inspired by my words!
I think it’s awesome that you’ve been decluttering things in your life. It’s been a long time since I’ve tried to do some electronic decluttering. It really overwhelms me just thinking about all I have to get rid of!
And I think it’s amazing that you created that app. It seems like it would be really cool and helpful! I’ll have to check it out!