Box Opened, Lesson Learned

Moving to Florida has been an epiphany in that I've learned an invaluable life lesson. 

Drudging up the past lifted the lid on a huge Pandora's box.

My journey started six years ago when I started writing a novel about my teen years. By posting six chapters of my book it allowed someone to have access to me that would turn out to be very destructive. Mi Miguel and I were so bogged down with life to recognize what was happening to us.

Writing about yourself and especially about your past will fully open that Pandora's box. Skeletons come out of the closet, feelings and emotions are exposed and things that were dead and bury will come back to haunt you. You quickly learn that the past too is a type of clutter.

Clutter is a distraction from the things that really matter. If I've learned anything of great importance over the last two years, it's that material things are not important. You get a short amount of pleasure out of them for a very short amount of time and then they get stored away, taking up space and then it becomes of no use to anyone.

Mi Miguel and I have spent many years building a marriage, a family and ultimately our home became about things. The more we bought and filled our home, the more we felt tied down to our home. The quote above is a little deep with all the talk about, "My soul." But, I can tell  you that I am happier than I've ever been in my life. 

I've spent my whole life trying to please everyone and make everyone happy. It's been frustrating and absolutely no happiness for myself. When you try to please everyone then you don't take time to do those things that make yourself happy. And you allow people to control you and your life.

Trying to please everyone makes you vulnerable to people that are mean, rude and nasty. The more you try to please mean people, the more they insist that you continue to jump through their hoops. So, not only have we uncluttered our home but we've also uncluttered our lives. No more mean, rude and nasty people allowed.

Learning to draw healthy boundaries has made a huge difference in my life. 

I'm no one's doormat anymore. I don't continually allow people to be mean to me or rude to me or define me into something I am not. I know who I am. Drawing boundaries allows you to remain true to yourself. I get that now.

I know I'm not perfect but truthfully, who is. After a long journey of trying to be that person that everyone wants me to be, I finally understand you can never please everyone or anyone.

Moving to Florida has allowed me to become clutter free in many aspects. My home is clutter free, my life is clutter free. And now, being able to spend quiet evenings at the beach...

my mind is finally clutter free.