How many times, at the end of the day, do you feel exhausted though you had done nothing worthwhile? On how many occasions did you react negatively without any tangible rational reason? Did you ever conduct a self audit to ascertain why your peace was disturbed?
What are the types of commitments you make? What is the number of commitments you make? Take a closer look. Have you trivialised your existence?
Ryan Nicodemus has this to say, “Those voices inside your head won’t be quiet. All you can hear is your boss telling you to have those reports done by Friday or your daughter reminding you that there’s soccer practice this Saturday or a parent’s voice telling you that they’re going to need you to help them drop off their car at the mechanic.”
If I have to talk of one mantra for a peaceful living, it is declutter. Declutter, according to the Collins English Dictionary, means to simplify or get rid of mess, disorder, complications, etc.
External decluttering can be of the possessions/ materials which one accumulates over the period, but that is not the subject of this article. The methods deployed there can also be meaningfully utilised in internal decluttering.
One oft repeated advice is – go slower. It may seem a cliché, but slowing the pace of your acts can substantially change the dynamics.
Another great way of doing it is found in what we call “simplicity”. Mahatma Gandhiji personified simplicity. In today’s world, it is common to hear the expression, ” It is simple to be happy, but it is difficult to be simple.” However, a minimalist programme can see you through to simplicity.
How do you declutter a mind? The mind is not an Inbox which you can work upon with robotic efficiency. The mind is a complex phenomenon with layers of memories, hurts, etc. that cannot be peeled off as in the case of an onion.
Shloka 3.34 from the Gita reads thus : “Indriyasyendriyasyarthe ragadvesau vyavasthitau, Tayorna vasamagaechet tau hyasya paripanthinau”
The baggage is a creation of sense organs which cling to sense objects through the emotions of Raga and Dvesha. The Gita therefore proclaims that attachment and aversion of the sense organs for the sense objects are natural. No one should come under their clutches as these are highway robbers.
Many a times, you harbour and dwell on your past, your actions, your decisions, your mistakes, your choices, etc. But ponder over these questions. Is that situation relevant now or ever that serious? Are you blowing it out of proportion? Was that situation in your control?
Lo and behold…it will dawn upon you that you were wasting your time, energy and thoughts over unwarranted matters. The Gita proclaims that attachment and aversion of the sense organs for the sense objects are natural. No one should come under their clutches as these are highway robbers. When you are worried, everything you are grappling with, appears to be an urgent problem. The real issue is your anxiety which makes you focus on imaginary problems. You like to project yourself as invincible and invulnerable.
In the process, you live a life of a pressure cooker without a whistle. It is better not to conceal your pains, your feelings, your anxiety or your frustrations. You do not have to worry that you shall appear like the rest of us. When you lend your ears to others and passionately listen to them, you shall find the magic working for you. This seems surprising but is true.
Giving up your past baggage shall eliminate a variety of the set patterns of thoughts. In fact, you can become more creative in all that you think and do. Lateral thinking, propounded by Edward De Bono, requires challenging of accepted concepts.
Declutter will allow you to negate a back to back, bumper to bumper existence. The deluge of activities shall be replaced by a surge of accomplishments. Decluttering will allow you to be in a “good to go” position anytime.
