Everywhere I go lately, people are talking about "The Law of Attraction", a concept made widely popular by a the movie The Secret. All over the world, it seems, people are compiling lists of stuff that they want to attract. I do think it's a great idea. But if you ask me, I'd say that what we really need is a "Law of Subtraction".
Will Rogers once stated, "Too many people are spending money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't need, to impress people they don't like." This describes the consumer society we live in, though we have added a modern twist: people are online, trying to impress or add "friends" they don't even know.
Our lives are already cluttered enough, literally and figuratively. Our minds are full of new ideas and beliefs, our friend list keeps growing, our environment is saturated with things that we might need some day (but so far haven't) and, too much apparently not being enough, we keep adding to it. By treating our minds like storage units we never go through (but continue fill up with junk that we'll never use), we hold on to beliefs and people that do not support our growth and expansion, but only slow down our progress without increasing our level of satisfaction.
Most of us have mental hard drives that are chock full, and we could do just fine without many of the folders and programs that we have stored (x-files, worry, anger, grudges... etc). Most of these folders and programs are constantly running in the background, sapping our psychic RAM. And have you ever noticed that when too many programs are opened at the same time, your computer runs slower and runs the risk of crashing?
Last week, I took a look around my apartment and saw all the "stuff" that I had accumulated over time: unopened magazines, stacks of books that I keep adding to instead of reading, clothes, shoes and of course countless emails from total strangers that I save for future reading, or, unaccountably, plan to delete later. Our mental state is often a reflection of our environment (and vice versa). So as I was contemplating at all my "stuff", the resulting confusion and despair led to an overwhelming urge to do a very late spring cleaning.
I started going through the things that I had not used in a long time, ruthlessly assessing whether I truly needed to keep it, and if not, whether I should give it to someone or simply throw it away.
As I dove in, I was struck with the obvious: Anything I haven't read, answered or used by now I very likely never will, because there is an endless stream of new things that keeps coming.
I gave countless books to the library and boxes of clothes to Goodwill. I emptied drawers full of receipts, flyers, used tickets, and useless memorabilia. And I began to be liberated from the bounds of pointless possession. I didn't do it all in a day, but when I was done with my first good pass, I felt pounds lighter (without dieting). I just had everything that was essential. ( And of course some that wasn't but I wanted to keep it anyway).
I have discovered that by consciously closing some of those folders and by moving some into the trash can, we free up space we can use to make ourselves more present, creative and alive. I actually believe that "The Law of Attraction" comes into play as a result of clarifying our environment, mind and soul.
If this sounds like a daunting task, I recommend you work into it gradually. The point is not to replace the clutter you clear by stress and fear and the frustration of indecision (do I need this? I might need this. What if I throw it away and then I need it?). If that seems to be happening, stop, take and deep breath and come back to it later.
For those of you who like questionnaires, there is an interesting tool online that can help you with the process of de-cluttering your mind. It's called the " Clean Sweep Program" and it helps you assess how you are doing in various areas of your life. It can help you see whether you are letting the small stuff clutter your mental space and take up unnecessary room. You can take the test for free.
Happy Subtraction!