UNTANGLING MY LIFE

The last two weeks have been horrendous. I think we can all agree with that. Too many

hurricanes. Too much violence. Too many sad, desperate people in the world. I can't NOT

think about these people. But nor can I dwell too long on their suffering. I watch the

news. I donate to relief funds. And my heart aches.

A friend suggested to me that decluttering is a way to compartmentalize our thoughts,

and I figured, "Well, yeah. My life could definitely use some decluttering." And so it

began, starting with my jewelry. I have scads of jewelry. None of it is especially good

or valuable. Some of it is downright gawdy, but at some time, for some reason I

bought it. Now I'm detangling these long strings of beads and stones and even rocks

and sorting them into "Keepers" "Giveaways" "Throwaways." When I'm done, I plan to

move on to my pantry and then the dreaded closets.

I don't think of this as burying my head in the sand. When I finish each project, I go

back to the news so I can keep abreast of what is happening. But for a few moments

I have been able to focus on something else, something just a bit worthwhile in a silly

sort of way. My cluttered life appreciates it. My sad heart does too.