[image error]When things aren’t adding up in your life, start subtracting. –Unknown

‘Tis the season…

when all of our good intentions go out the window.

With the holidays come and gone, it is so easy for all those good clearing habits that we’ve been cultivating over the past few months – of tidying, decluttering, simplifying – to go out the proverbial window.

Maybe all we need to remember is to take one step today.

And repeat tomorrow. And the next day… while applying massive amounts of self-compassion and care when we get stuck, or get rattled, or lose hope.

One small step. One pile. One area. One day. One week. One month…. at a time.

Yes, the “Rule of One.” It’s the only way I know to grow a spacious muscle that lasts. Try it this month and see what happens.

If you could use a little inspiration to help you remember what matters, this poem by Mary Oliver, might help. Thank you Paul Hughes for sending it to me with the beautiful image. (If anyone knows who did the artwork, please post in the comments below. I would love to properly credit the artist.)

Storage

A Poem by Mary Oliver

When I moved from one house to another
there were many things I had no room for.
What does one do? I rented a storage
space. And filled it. Years passed.
Occasionally I went there and looked in,
but nothing happened, not a single
twinge of the heart.

As I grew older the things I cared
about grew fewer, but were more
important. So one day I undid the lock
and called the trash man. He took
everything.

I felt like the little donkey when
his burden is finally lifted. Things!
Burn them, burn them! Make a beautiful
fire! More room in your heart for love,
for the trees! For the birds who own
nothing– the reason they can fly.

–Mary Oliver, Felicity

What is one small task you can do to lighten your load this spring? Set an intention by sharing it in the comment thread below. We will collectively hold a space for it to be so.

Whether you choose to go cold turkey or adopt the gentler, more mindful “slow drip” approach (which I tend to favor), may your clearing efforts open your heart and give you new wings to fly.

Photo credit [shared with gratitude]: Unknown

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