WHAT DRIVES YOU CRAZY OR DISRUPTS YOUR PEACE?

I was wandering around my home today frantically taking care of that which I could. You may wonder what I mean by that. Let me explain.

There are times in life where we feel anxious and overwhelmed. We sometimes know the cause and other times we don’t. I know that I have certain things that drive me crazy and cause me to feel anxious. Ad now that I am pretty darn self-actualized, I typically delve into much introspection because I always want to know the root cause.

One of the things that tends to make me anxious is when my space is not orderly. Now, believe you me, I am the almost absolute farthest thing from a perfectionist in most areas. I am not hard on myself and give myself lots of grace. I know that we have been ridiculously busy launching Another Mother and alllllllllll that goes on behind the scenes. I know that we had a very important holiday we have been preparing for. So, I have kept my head down and focused on the tasks at hand while my environment around me has become increasingly more and more and more unruly, cluttered and disheveled.

I have had to work to not allow myself to get drug into despair about it because chaos really is a huge trigger for me. When Little You comes from a childhood environment of unpredictability and instability, it is natural to crave peace and steadfastness. A messy home does NOT, I repeat, does NOT create calm for me. I am currently in my very own messy home.

So today, as I was mentally preparing for a 1-on-1 Zoom call with a Nugget, I was fastidiously tidying. I put away the dishes used for the tea party I had for my own Another Mothers…wrapped and packed those suckers right up to go back into storage. I re-organized the pit of despair (aka gift wrapping supplies box under my bed) and threw out items I will never use. I washed the sheets on my bed in the most ridiculously HEAVENLY SCENTED detergent because when I lay down in those clean sheets and smell that delectable scent, I will be euphoric and peaceful at bedtime. (Here is the link, you can thank me later.) Literally, I don’t have words for how happy this detergent makes my soul.

I rinsed and emptied out old coffee cups that still contained coffee. I picked up the dirty clothes off my bedroom floor, I organized my teeny tiny desk area and I put books away on my bookshelf. And how many things is that now? Let me count. That is only 6 things that I did in the course of 20 minutes. But those 6 decisions I made put me in a better space instantly emotionally and mentally. My bedroom and some of my living spaces are now more tolerable and easier for me to be in.

What didn’t I do? LOTS. And when I say LOTS, I mean LOTS. My closet? Ha! I can’t even walk into it because a bomb went off in it. My bathroom counter is covered with folded clothes waiting to be put away. Christmas presents and boxes are all over the place, not to mention cookware used to make Christmas treats. I still have a HUGE under the bed box sitting in my itty-bitty living room which contains all of my supplies for packing and shipping. I could go on and on at all the things still needing to be done but the point is…

I bit off what I could chew today. I did “what I could’. And I know that tomorrow, I’ll be able to bite off a little bit more. We must have grace with ourselves and simply do what we can in even a moment. Sometimes that’s not a whole lot, and that’s ok. Heck, somedays it’s NOTHING, and that’s ok. Sometimes we can knock it out of the park and other days we might need to push ourselves a little bit to do 6 things, or 4 things or even 1thing for our own sake. For me, every little bit helps, and every little bit is a victory toward creating internal peace.

So, if you’re struggling with any form of chaos or something that is causing you to feel anxious or a lack of inner peace, let me challenge you to find ONE thing…JUST ONE thing that will lift your spirit a little bit. Maybe it’s putting your clothes in a hamper instead of the floor, maybe it’s loading 10 dishes into the dishwasher. Perhaps it’s taking a shower or washing your hair. It could even be something like putting all of your wastebasket trash into a trash bag or hanging a string of lights in your bedroom. Whatever it is, Little One, do it. Sometimes one small decision FOR you can help your inner light shine a little brighter. Don’t get weighed down by the BIGNESS around you. Bite off what you can chew. Do what you CAN. I’m here and I’m rooting for you.

One last thing, I'd like to share a book with you that not only touches on this topic but several others that are helpful, as well. It taught me how to tap into my own power and give myself unconditional love. The book is How To Be An Adult by David Richo. Use the title link to check it out on Amazon. Happy Reading!