Challenge #4: "How do you fail to utilize your gift and talents? How do you feel at those moments? Are you unwilling to act? Is it that you are afraid? What is really going on? How can a few simple steps change you? What do you need for that to happen?"I am woman: hear me snore! Yes, it's the deadly sound of sloth at my house. I'm guilty of slacking more often than I like to think about.
Look at this corner of my workspace. It's a fair representation of what seems like my whole life these days. My desk, where I delayed doing my taxes, and tend to put off paying bills, doesn't look much better than this. Stacks of art stuff have crept onto the kitchen table and into my bedroom and sitting area. We've packed a few boxes of extras to donate to charity, but they are likewise scattered about. I like to use the excuse that it's because we moved into a smaller house, that I haven't unpacked and found everything yet, or that things are continually shifting locations because we're renovating. Those things are all true, but it's been four months and it hardly seems things are any better now than they were in December.
I'm overwhelmed by projects pulling me in all directions. I'll walk in, look at the mess, and stand transfixed until I throw my hands up in despair and walk away; or I'll rummage through the piles until I find enough interesting pieces to create "accidental" art. The act of rummaging results in more stuff piling up and the mess gets worse.
I think the trick is not to let myself become overwhelmed. Something I read a while back said if you looked at a pile of food, which was all the food you were going to be eating for the rest of your life, you'd go crazy trying to figure out how you were going to eat it all; but you don't have to eat it all at once. You're going to be eating it one bite at a time, one meal at a time. I'm trying to apply that parable to my messy house. One paper at a time, one pile at a time. I tried this yesterday and was amazed at how far just a little bit of organizing and rearranging went to clear up our living space.
My own workspace still has a ways to go.
8 comments:
Wonderful post !! Yes just take it one step at a time and it will be done before you know ! There is a wonderful book out there called Living Large in small spaces - unsure of the author right now but it helps to clean out the clutter of your life !! good luck !!
Beth
www.bethquinndesigns.com
Piles of stuff-- I can relate! I think they breed and multiply. I'm always amazed at how much I can do when I absolutely have to, and I tell myself, "That wasn't so bad. I shouldn't let it get out of hand again." And yet it always does (get out of hand again). Good luck with taking it one step at a time!
Wonderful thoughts..I'm going to print this out and hang it above my desk. You are in good company - my desk looks like yours...
My desk looks like that too, and I've started this week with the book shelf. Books are going to be sold, magazines are being clipped and trashed. It feels great! :-)
Oh man...good good thoughts. My boss at work always says, "how do eat an elephant? One bite at a time." It's just hard to remember we HAVE to pace ourselves!
Count me in with the rest. My desk and entire room for that matter is a mess. One bite at a time, one bite at a time....tomorrow.
Great take on this week's topic! I think that most true artists are disorganized and cluttered ( I SURE AM!) It can get frustrating but it's our space and generally we know where a great deal of our 'stuff' is regardless of the piles. You're sooo right.. one bite at a time... that's the only way!!
Have a fabulous weekend!~
Gabi
Your desk looks like my desk. I always felt hunted by guilt and bad about my natural messiness...till I began to notice how extremely often clutter goes with creativity! When I heard the author of "A Perfect Mess" talk about this same phenomenon on the radio, I let the last few shreds of guilt melt away. Now I just try to "embrace the whole catastrophe".
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