I am writing this post from a room which is bare, empty and feels cold, even though today is a particularly warm summer day. All the paraphernalia on my desk has been packed in boxes, and the pictures and postcards on the walls have been stripped off. No, I am not moving anywhere. I am simply re-building my study room / work-space.
After a lot of thinking, planning, postponing and some more planning, I finally decided that I had to re-do my room this year. Over the last few years, I have collected and parked a lot of memories and a whole lot more objects in my small room. It is now time to clear out the clutter, throw out what is no longer important and make space for the new and shiny.
For the last 2-3 years, de-cluttering and simplification of the space and mind has been big on my list of things to do. I have been making steady progress – every six months or so, I try and throw out old clothes, books, gadgets and just about anything which no longer has any practical use or sentimental value. Over the last few years, I have also tried to digitize a lot of what I would earlier do on paper, which means all my planners, diaries, notes have been moved to online apps and systems. Everything online is so much more easy to organize, track and trash (when the time is right).
I recently realized that I no longer have patience for the unnecessary and I think with this room re-development, I might just achieve my minimalism goals for the year. I am not throwing everything away – a lot of the memories and keepsakes will go up on the walls of my new room, or sit pretty in a vintage trunk. But everything else that doesn’t add value in any way will have to go. It is way more important to preserve pictures, words and memories than objects – I am already doing a lot of this with the blog and hope to continue doing more of the same in the future.
Sometimes, simple things like this can help in releasing baggage – both physical and emotional – so one can move ahead on life’s new adventures. One of my favorite films ‘The Darjeeling Limited‘ was playing on TV yesterday and I was catching up on it in between all the packing. The movie chronicles the spiritual journey of three brothers as they travel across India. In the last scene of the film, they run to catch a train and realize they need to discard all their father’s suitcases and bags which are weighing them down. Symbolically, the suitcases represent their own emotional baggage which they discard before they get onto the train. This is exactly what I am feeling right now! Funny how the universe works in mysterious ways and throws up such signs at just the right time.
So tomorrow, I will be a little sad when they tear down my room but mostly I will be happy and excited about all the fantastic changes I have planned for the new space. Here’s hoping it will be lighter, brighter and even more delightful than what I have had so far!
“You only lose what you cling to” ~ Buddha
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