Recently, our house has been through major changes. We renovated our kitchen and discovered much-needed repairs, which led to a whole lot of chaos, including external walls being demo’d and replaced. One of the rooms impacted was my studio, where I coach and where I create. I have only recently started moving back in.
This upheaval signaled a time of transformation, one that has touched many aspects of my life. It has been a time of releasing what no longer supports me in order to create a nourishing, authentic space for my current self and who I am growing into. Though it is challenging a lot of the time, the clarity it is bringing me is delicious.
Yesterday I donated 5 huge bags of books. In addition to their content, those books contained my history, my memories, my decisions and the interests of particular times in my life. I value those things but in this space, I want to create a flow around what I’m currently inspired by, what feeds my spirit right now. So I let the ballast go.
As the room starts to feel more spacious, I notice so do I. The joy of glancing over at my bookcase and seeing books that excite and engage me is thrilling. Having space on the shelves for creative projects is a dream! Creating space creates possibilities.
Yesterday I managed to clear off my studio table and it was a revelation! As soon as the space was free and clean, I recognized how deeply important it is for me to have a writing space – not a typing space, but a place for pen and paper, a place to journal and cut and glue. I didn’t know how hungry my spirit had been for that space until I dove in with enthusiasm as soon as it was available. Since yesterday, I’ve re-started morning pages, completed an art project and journalled.
Creating a space for what is important to you right now can shift your energy tremendously. It can be as big as creating your personal studio space or as simple as clearing off a shelf. It can be creating a sacred space for meditation or dedicating a desk to writing. By making space for what you love, you let your self, those around you and the Universe know what is important to you, and when you do that, amazing things happen. And even if you don’t know what you are creating space for, clearing the way will help with the discovery. There is room for you.
How does your space reflect your current loves? What little shifts and changes can you make to invite more of that yumminess in?
And if you’re looking for some help with your decluttering, my sweet friend Goddess Leonie has a decluttering e-course that turns the process into a goddess-releasing journey! You can find out more here.
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{ 11 comments }
Looks like you are inviting Zen into your life. The peace and calm of flow is awesome. I had it in my old home and hope to have a new one in August. Where I will have Zen in my life again. .
This is so relevant for me where I am at the moment. Books are a real “thing” for me, both past delights I need to let go of and, more importantly, loads (I mean LOADS!) of books that I’ve bought and never read. They were all bought over a period of years to feed certain aspects of myself that I like to think are there but perhaps are not. For example from where I sit I can see “The Penguin History of the Twentieth Century”. I bought that about four years ago in one of my “being more learned” phases. Am I actually interested in history? Not really. Certainly not enough to read a fat history book. To some extent letting go of that and other unread books is about letting go of possibilities, but then as you found, the space will introduce new possibilities.
By the way, one thing that really amuses me about myself is how many books on clutter clearing I own…
I recently moved my writing studio from the spare bedroom to a much smaller alcove off of the kitchen. It was the space I felt myself drawn to again and again and although it is very small, it feels right to me!
Hmmm…let me reverse my answer (since my space is so cramped at the moment). NOT having space for my creative stuff is leaving me feeling a bit jumpy and like I want to get out of here! Go for a walk, go get coffee…anything but sit in clutter and work.
So maybe I’ll use my Monday as a space-clearing time. Maybe. :)
Hi jamie,
I too was overwhelmed by my clutter and created today’s post at my blog – affirm-mantra for this week-clear clutter for clarity to motivate myself to tackle the clutter that silently builds up.Coming here I was surprised to see the same sentiments echoed.
Yay for you Jamie! I know what you mean. Moving to a much smaller apartment, I just had to bite down and donate boxes of stuff and lots of books. The reward was a fresher, more inviting space instead of a tiny apartment. I have an orange retro table & stools by my window where I like to write.
I love the nurturing sound of your studio. The chaos must have been crazy, but then it transistioned into your own personal zen-like space.
:)
Morning pages!! I do them too…my morning brain dump I call it!
This is supremely awesome to read this morning. I spent a goodly-chunk of my weekend working on my ‘homework’ :) from the “Decluttering Goddesses” Lisa and Leonie. I too realized how important it is to me to have a free surface at which I can sit down and destroy, create, and relate to myself in general. This was **huge.** I’m not anywhere near through, but I *finally* after 3 weeks of just carrying my little book around got to Wreck the first page of my Journal :) And that in and of itself was worth a bag of chocolate covered truffles :) Declutterers of the Universe UNITE! (I like to think that She-Ra was in there waving a sword and we all turned into superhero declutterers….I’ll have to come up with a better war cry now :)
PS – the giving away/clearing away of books is bringing me to a brick wall…so it was really good to read how much book-age you relieved yourself of!
Enjoy your return to morning pages. I had stopped for about a month and recently resumed. That sacred time of writing and journaling is so good for the soul. I smile as I read your post about your studio as I’m in the process of decluttering my creative room. It feels so good to make room for creativity. Enjoy your new creative sanctuary!
I always read about people being happy after getting rid of stuff. I have been one of them many times.
Now I have to get rid of stuff due to space issues and I feel resentful. :(
Maybe it was not yet the time to get rid of my artsy stuff (things that I kept to be altered “some day” ;) ) but it must be done. *sigh*
I too have joined the Decluttering Goddesses. Just visualizing what I hope to achieve is like a weight lifting.
I too have way too many books and files and just paper!
I love their philosophy of looking toward what you want and not at what you have to do.
Thanks for this post Jamie.
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