Clearing Away the Clutter

2020 brought a strange holiday season for many people. We were away from loved ones and celebrations, when they did occur, took on a simplified, almost-unreal sheen. Like many others, my husband and I chose to stay home.

I spent both December 25 and December 31 cleaning my living room, dining room, and kitchen. It was the perfect way to spend the end of 2020. In fact, it was the perfect way to put a period on the last four years and usher in 2021.

As I listen to healers and shamans, I understand that 2020 was a time of great breaking apart. 2021 is a time of great healing. As I tore my house apart in order to put it back together, I understood the importance of destruction before rebirth, the phoenix rising from the ashes.

In the shredding of papers and the organizing of closets, I felt myself release a great weight. As I saw my floor, long buried under piles of paperwork, I was able to imagine a sustainable future, where everyone has enough to eat and a place to live and no one is buried under debris. As I stacked containers in my cupboard, I was able to see a path through the clutter and chaos of racial and sexual injustice, global climate change, and destructive nationalism to peace and harmony, stability and connectedness.

What started as a housecleaning became a promise. A promise to never again let negative energy pile up around me. A promise to keep the clutter at bay so I can move forward. As I light a candle and realize I am done, I pledge to shift my attention to clearing the world of destructive energy so that at this time next year, we can look back and say, "It feels really good to see the floor again. What's next on the list?"