The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
The C2C reading for August 10 speaks about clutter and how, as the result of living with the disease of alcoholism , many of us develop destructive tools to live by. Some are expressed in our housekeeping, such as clutter , shopping, obsessively cleaning, etc. It points out the clutter does not have to be physical, we can find clutter in areas in our minds, in our spiritual and emotional life that are in disarray. We can heal these without a moral judgment about them.
The quote is from the ODA T; the Al-Anon program can give me a new view of my world by helping me to see myself more clearly..
I honestly did not realize the "emotional "clutter that I carried around until I worked the Steps especially 10 on a daily basis and once a year and 4 through 9
I finally reached thee point I could live truly in the moment without the "clutter" of yesterday.
By examining my motives I was able to learn the lessons of yesterday without accumulating the" clutter" . Thank you alanon
Well - thanks Betty! I am a self-professed pack-rat so have clutter/collections all around and have slowly been making my way through it all...I had extreme clutter of the mind also and it has improved as I work on myself with this program and the tools.
I do find a sense of freedom as I work through both. It amazes me how I can 'slip' so easily - last evening, I was watching a TV program and there was a 17 YO boy in it. At the end of the show, they showed this boy being 'normal' and 'kind, caring' to his parents - my mind immediately went to.....why did my boys at 17 view me with venom in their eyes so very often? Of course, stopping myself from going down that mental rabbit hole, I realized because of this disease and that it was the disease reacting to me and not my boys.
Such small things can trigger my baggage when I am tired and that I was. I am so grateful I had a new tote bag to stifle that train of thought and redirect me to what is my truth and that which I can be and am very grateful for.
I too thank Al-Anon for the tools, steps and fellowship that allows me to be, think and do better each day!
__________________
Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
Thank you Betty. As I read this today I was thinking about my tendency toward extremes- with clutter and de-cluttering included. I think of how it used to be that clutter would build up around the house until I went on a frenzy of cleaning. It reminds me of how I would not express myself in a healthy way as things were happening and then would explode in anger or frustration. I'm finding these days I'm on more of an even keel with all of it and I do think it's reflected in physical surroundings. My house and my mind aren't in extremes of clutter or pristine and I think part of that is learning how to deal with life in a healthier way.
Thanks for sharing, everyone! Mary, I was thinking that same thing about myself this morning. Actually, my office functions in much the same way. Pile, pile, pile, until I can't take it anymore, then I clean and file things away, but can't remember where I put them when I need them.
Working toward balance is a daily project, and one that I am getting better at with practice.
__________________
Skorpi
If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present. - Lao Tzu
The clutter...ohhhh the clutter. I feel like I've never been a great housekeeper, but once AH and I combined households the clutter became out of control. I go on cleaning sprees and then the clutter just piles back up. I KNOW that the both of us have lots of emotional clutter as well, but it feels that much harder to work through it when your physical surroundings are chaotic as well. And vice versa.
Just a few weeks ago I finally decided enough was enough and I needed to clean, organize, and come up with a system for staying organized, so I borrowed a bunch of books from the library. One in particular I found really helpful was "Throw Out Fifty Things: Clear the Clutter, Find Your Life" by Gail Blanke. It is about physically throwing things out (comes with instructions and a workbook!), but it also discusses the connection between that clutter and stress and talks about de-cluttering the mind and living an exceptional life. I highly recommend it!
I finally de-cluttered the bedroom and worked hard to make it into the sanctuary I thought it should be and now it is the one room where I feel I can clear my mind, relax, and meditate. I've done some small organization projects throughout the rest of the house but I need to keep working on it.
It is amazing the relief and peace and clarity I feel having a clean and pretty physical environment! I haven't completely dedicated focus JUST to clearing emotional clutter, but I feel I'm doing the work to get to that point someday soon.
-- Edited by RealitySucker on Monday 10th of August 2015 12:52:59 PM
I think about how I drive everyone at work crazy cause I am constantly de-cluttering!! I have always
been a bit of a neat freak, but I just thought that this is the way I am. My Mom never cleaned and
when I was out on my own I think I took it step further because of living in the mess as a kid.
__________________
"Forgiveness doesn't excuse bad behavior, but it
does prevent bad behavior from destroying your heart". ~ unknown
