Hello, My friends.
This week our little family increased by three. Mrs Piggy, our tri-colour guinea pig. Who is predominately tan with white swatches on her head and back, her hind quarters have black splotches on them, had her babies. She has been in maternity lock down for the last few weeks. She had three perfect little piggies, each with their own individual markings. One tan and white, the next black with a little tuft of white on the top of it’s head, and the third black and white with one swatch of tan on it’s side. Mr Hubby is in his element taking care of everyone.
This week I wanted to talk about our outside life being a reflection of our inside life.
Have you ever gone walking around the block, looking at and admiring people’s gardens? We’ve been doing a lot of that lately. What I’ve noticed is, that some gardens are always immaculate, the lawns are always mown with the edges trimmed, the gardens are generally well kept. Then there are other properties that have lawns high enough to loose a small animal in, the gardens are over grown, sometimes there are cars parked on the lawn, covered with tarpaulin, some gardens are children playgrounds with bikes, scooters and trampolines on the lawn. Each of these gardens says something about the person living in the property.
What about your car? What does that say about you? Do you drive the latest model, four wheel drive? or is your vehicle a more modest one, that is looking dated and a little faded? I’m not actually talking about the age or type of vehicle you drive, although that does say something about who you are, I want to ask you. Is the vehicle of your choice clean? Do you wash and wax it every now and then? or Is it a drive and leave kind of vehicle, that gets you from A to B and back, but you don’t really spend any time on it? What about the inside of your vehicle, does it have fast food wrapping, drink bottles, papers, candy wrappers, children’s clothes and shoes, your work bag, the fishing gear, the dog’s play toys strewn around on the floor or all over the seats? Do you have to clear off the front seat for some-one to sit in it? Do you apologize for the mess, when someone gets into the car? The way a vehicle is maintained says something about the owner of the vehicle.
What about your dress code? Do you have a dress code? Did you choose your clothes intentionally? Do you have a look that you style for yourself? Or Do you throw on the first thing you come across? Are your clothes clean and well maintained? What about your personal care, do you shower every day? Do you shave and groom yourself with intention? The way you look and wear your clothes, the posture you have and the way you move all tell a story about what you believe about yourself and how well you are prepared to be treated.
What about your home? Or your bedroom? Do you have a lot of things in your home that remind you of a time you’d rather forget? Are all your surfaces covered with papers and trinkets that somehow just appeared? Do you have books that have never been read and are not likely to be read, taking up valuable space on your shelves? Have you planned the way you want your home to feel? Do have other peoples stuff cluttering your home? Do you just wish you had more space? The things you surround yourself with tell stories about who you are. What are the things that surround you, say about you?
Our outside lives: Everything in our environment, tells something about us.
What you think on the inside shows up on the outside? If you’re feeling tired and down, your personal care will show it, your demeanour will show it, how you speak will show it. If you’re hurried, and don’t have the time, you don’t take the few minutes to put away the laundry, cook dinner, or clear away the dishes. If you’re worried or stressed you don’t take the time to care for yourself, your home, your garden or your vehicle.
I have good news, you can take baby steps to make a difference in your environment. Which will have an effect on the way you think and act in your life.
For those of you who have never used a planner, begin with the back of an envelope or a sheet of paper. If you have a planner, dust it off. I want you to choose one area of your life today, that you can begin on. Ask yourself the question. What area would have the biggest impact on you from the inside? What is the area of your life that every time you walk past it, it growls at you inside your head? The one area that irritates you everyday?
Write this down on your paper. Ask yourself. What about this area frustrates me? Write it down. What will it take to tidy it up and keep it tidy? Set aside a little time regularly to begin clearing the area. Work in small increments to prevent overwhelm. Say 30 minutes at a time. When the time is up tidy everything away, put the rubbish in the rubbish bin, put each item away where it lives. If it doesn’t have a home, give it one, and ensure it always goes home after it’s been used. Donate or sell the extra items you don’t need.
To show you what I mean, I’ll use my freezer top as an example. This area irritates me in that it is a dumping ground for junk mail, hand bags, books, papers, and work gear. Almost anything that comes through the door gets put here. I decided I wanted this area to remain clutter free at all times. To begin with I cleared all the stuff off the top, putting it all in a basket. I sorted it according to type. To prevent it from accumulating again I had to figure out a place where each item could live permanently. My work bag I put a hook in the hallway and relocated it there. I also decided that would be a good place for my hand bag. The car keys I made a designated bowl to put them in every-time I came home, this way I knew where they were quickly and easily. The paper stuff wasn’t so easy, it took a few attempts to retrain myself to put them in the file tray I had created on the bookshelf beside the table. The books went where I would use them, library books have a specific place on the bookshelf, I want to be able to find them easily when I need to read them or return them. My goal was to create a place for every-thing and to make it easy for me to put every-thing back in it’s place.
I want for you to find the ease and elegance that living in a tidy and organised environment can have on you on the inside, how it creates a pocket of space for you to breathe and relax a little, it gives you room to think.
I’m all about creating a better life by creating better thoughts, and better thoughts create better actions, By creating better actions we create better habits which starts the cycle again. This week I would encourage you to choose one area in your life, whether it is personal care, your vehicle, your garden, your home, your bedroom to begin to try it for yourself, to see the benefit in making space for your thoughts by creating space in your environment.
Till next week, Live your best authentic life.
Linda Codlin
If you have found this helpful head over to facebook @lindacodlin25 and leave me a comment.