Clutter

Jun 2, 2019

For most, school’s out of session for summer – which is a beautiful thing. I believe I speak for most teachers when I say that by the time the bell rings on the last day of school, we are all in need of a break. If for no other reason, I need a break just to purge all of the clutter.

It is amazing the amount of stuff one teacher can acquire throughout the school year. I discovered this when I started digging through files and pitching stuff I won’t need again. Unfortunately, it is hard for me to throw stuff out. I have a tendency to hold on to things – which often create problems.

I wish I was more like my wife. She’s good at letting things go. This was apparent last Friday, which was her last day of school…forever. Yes – she’s officially a retiree. I was ready to help cart boxes home from her 35-year teaching career, but everything she took home barely filled one box. “I won’t need that stuff anymore. I’d rather others use it,” she said.

I need to take a page from my wife’s book and get better at letting “things” go. I hang on to obsessive thoughts, negative voices, grudges, anger and frustration way too much. My brain gets filled with clutter and it is hard for me to move on. This weighs me down and often keeps me from enjoying the present because my brain is obsessed with clutter of the past.

This summer I invite you to step away from all the clutter that you are hanging on to. We can’t change the past, but we do have the opportunity to start fresh every day. So, enjoy your summer and the break it naturally affords. At least for most of us, before we know it we will be diving back into another year and all the exciting new clutter that naturally accompanies it.

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