Spring Cleaning
I don’t know what the sunshine levels were where you live this past January, but over the span of those 31 days, those of us in Western New York only saw the sun three times. (And not all of those visits were “full day” visits.) Getting through the gray-ness was tough.
I’m so grateful that we’ve hit a stretch since then with many more sunny days. However, I’ve sadly found a downside to the sun.
It’s shockingly obvious how much my house needs a good spring cleaning.
I sat for my morning prayer time a few days ago, feeling grateful for the sunlight… until I turned my head to look out the window and realized how hard it was to see out of the window because of all the grime that’s accumulated. (Actual photo accompanies this blog. Yes, it’s embarrassing, but at least you know I’m telling the truth.)
Yesterday, the sunlight streaming in through the windows in our house was so lovely… until I realized that I could now see all the cobwebs that were dangling from light fixtures and in corners of the rooms.
Today was another beautiful sunny morning… that made it obvious just how thick some of the dust layers are. And ugh! Dust grows on walls, too??!!
I’m choosing to find solace and grace in the likelihood that my house isn’t the only one in this situation.
What else needs spring cleaning?
When I notice the crud that starts to collect over time in my house, I’m prompted to also notice the crud that starts to collect over time in my life.
If your house is a metaphor for your life, what parts of your life need a good, thorough spring cleaning?
Dealing with cobwebs. What behaviors used to be good and healthy habits that you’ve fallen out of? I’m coming out of a busy season, where I’ve prioritized work in lots of ways. I need to clear the cobwebs off re-creation, build back habits of rest and renewal, and plan for more time with the people who are most important to me.
In talking with a client lately, she acknowledged that she’s been traveling a lot and that her schedule has been irregular. That’s thrown off several of the routines that keep her healthy and focused, and she’s been struggling to get back into them. She needs to clear the cobwebs and start again.
For others, clearing the cobwebs might be even more challenging. Cobwebs tend to form in dark corners, places we don’t like to look. What are the dark corners of your life you’ve been avoiding? Are you willing to bring some light and courage to those places to clean them up?
Dusting. When was the last time you dusted off your sense of self? Maybe this sounds odd to you. You’re thinking, “I know who I am!” Sure, you do – or at least, you did. But sometimes dust collects on parts of ourselves that we haven’t expressed lately. Has your understanding of your core needs and values deepened or changed over time? When was the last time you intentionally used your gifts and talents? If you’ve taken a personality assessment in the past and found it helpful, when was the last time you dusted off that report and looked at it with fresh eyes in new circumstances? You knew who you were in the past… but as your life has changed and evolved, do you know who you are now?
Last year, I worked with a client who had experienced massive change (and in many cases, significant loss) in every important area of her life. In our work together, she recreated her sense of self in a way that was deeper, more authentic, and more accurate to who she is now. To extend the dusting/housecleaning analogy, she found that as she re-discovered her self-identity, she needed to rearrange some of the pieces of her life so that her life worked better for her. Sometimes dusting leads to reorganizing…
Cleaning the windows. Sometimes, we need to clean the windows of our lives so that we can see ourselves and our lives more clearly. This might require that we take a bit of a pause, spray the metaphorical glass cleaner (aka “ask some good questions”), and begin to wipe.
When you compare your calendar to the things you say are your priorities, do you see a match or a mismatch?
When you look at your most important relationships, what do you notice about how you’re showing up in them?
When you consider who you spend the most time with, and you think about whether those people bring you life or drain it, what do you realize?
When you think about the advice you’d give to your best friend about taking care of herself, how well do you take your own advice?
When you look to your future, who do you really want to be? What do you really want to do? What legacy do you most want to leave? Are your actions today moving you closer to or further from those desires?
Cleaning the windows of our lives just might help us see things that had been obscured by the rush of our daily lives. Maybe there are some things that we’d been overlooking because the grime of busyness and inattention was blurring their reality.
What’s going to motivate you to do that work?
I know what will make me clean my house: Having people over. So it’s highly probable that my windows, walls, floors, and all the rest will get a good cleaning before Easter.
What’s an external motivation that might prompt you to do some “spring cleaning” in your life? Maybe you’re like my client Beverly, who knew that if she strengthened her sense of identity and worthiness, she’d be a better role model for her two sons. Whether you’re a parent or not, who in your life would benefit from you becoming a better version of yourself?
Creating a list of the “external impacts” (people and situations) might help you get into this work of refreshing your life.
The trouble with life (as opposed to our houses) is that it can be harder to find an external motivation to freshen things up. Instead, we continue to ignore the grime, the crud, and the cobwebs and let them build up and obscure the loveliness of ourselves and our lives.
We need to find internal motivation to do it. Perhaps one way to do this is to lean into the idea of spring cleaning. For instance, if your house looks like mine in any way, imagine what it could look like if it was sparkling… imagine the sparkle of the surfaces, the lemon-fresh smell, the warmth and grain of the wood showing through again.
What’s the parallel in your life? Imagine…
…the freedom that comes from having really clear priorities and being able to say no without guilt.
…the power that comes from acknowledging your own needs and taking steps to honor them.
…the deep feeling of alignment and focused energy when you’re living out your values and using your strengths with power.
…the peace of mind that emerges when you use your calendar to serve you instead of you being a slave to your calendar.
…the joy and delight that comes from knowing that you’re doing what matters and living out your purpose.
If you had more of those things in your life, what impact would that have on you, the people around you, and the situations of your everyday life?
Need a cleaning service?
With your house, there are people you can call who can do the work for you.
With your life, there’s really no one but you who can do the work.
But you don’t have to do it alone. I’m here for you, friend.
I cannot – and will not – help you clean your literal house. But I can show you how to “go room-by-room” in your life, clearing out the cobwebs, cutting through the dust, and cleaning the windows. I can guide you through the steps that help you get back in touch with who you are, what matters most, and how you want to live. Most importantly, I’ll teach you the system to use to keep the crud and grime to manageable levels so that you can regularly freshen up your life.
All of this (and more) is included in my signature program, Real Life Refresh. It’s the epitome of spring cleaning for your life, and it will give you that “lemon fresh” feeling in your real life. Real Life Refresh empowers you with greater clarity and focus about who you are and how you want to live, and guides you step-by-step as you build that vision into your real life today – and every day after.
You’ll do the work, but I’ll walk you through it. The program includes a proven process, helpful tools, a supportive community, and a knowledgeable guide. All it needs now is YOU.
If you know that your life would be better if you gave it some “spring cleaning,” then I urge you to enroll in Real Life Refresh. But I urge you to do that quickly because doors close later today (March 7).
I hate cleaning houses, but I LOVE helping people do a deep clean on their lives. So if you need some company, some hand-holding, and some tutorials for the spring cleaning in your life, enroll in Real Life Refresh today.
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