Zen Style January 9, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Home & Garden, Life Balance, Mindfulness, Nature.trackback
Zen frees the mind of clutter to accommodate a greater level of awareness. Its value lies in its simplicity ~ an ever-present reminder that less is more.
So too in our surroundings.
As we clear our homes of unnecessary clutter, we become more awake and aware. We recognize and strengthen our connection to the truth within.
With fewer distractions, even the most mundane task or object offers insight.
As we restore balance and harmony to our living spaces, we feel a greater sense of serenity, peace, and tranquility within.
As we pare down our possessions, our home becomes an oasis, a place of repose, a refuge, a sanctuary . . . far from the maddening crowd.
We create space for greater openness and calm ~ a place where we can more easily find balance and peace of mind.
As we mindfully choose how to fill our rooms, we celebrate life ~ through invigorating colors, tactile textures, and savory scents. Gratitude surfaces, circulating and mingling with enticing aromas.
We relax in rooms awash in invigorating light and objects of natural beauty ~ a bright red rose, a lush green potted plant, a lively bouquet of yellow daisies, warm candles emitting spicy scents with each flicker.
Our spirits dance and soar as we walk through the door . . . We’re HOME!
Aah . . . that’s better.
For more ideas: Zen Style ~ Balance & Simplicity For Your Home, Jane Tidbury
Related posts: Zen Living For Idiots * The ABC’s of Zen Living * Between The Wish & The Thing
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Spirit Lights The Way 
Great Writing 🙂
a zennish – vid – for You
Have a great day 🙂
xxCAT
Beautiful images, Cat! Thanks!
I had a clear out this weekend, very satsifying!
There is something so liberating about clearing spaces of the unnecessary clutter and detritus we accumulate over time.
Whether we organize a drawer, a cabinet, a closet, or an entire room . . . we feel lighter, freer, and full of energy.
Ah yes, clearing clutter shall be how I describe 2012 in retrospect!
This morning, I meditated on “Empty Spaces” . . . and saw “room” for improvement.
Here’s to 2012 . . . the year of clutter busting.
Home, ah yes! Had a fab weekend of roaming tranquility but still something extra wonderful about walking back through my own front door!
It is a feeling I wish for everyone in the world . . . a place, a space, of rest and repose to call “home.”
Beautiful post. Clearing the clutter out of all aspects of our ife, inviting the beautiful and the natural in. . . ahhhhhh….much better!
Thanks, Cecelia. I agree! When I walk into a room with cluttered surfaces, littered to overflowing with extraneous STUFF, I feel agitated and distracted by the superfluous.
When I walk into a room with cleared surfaces, the surface of my mind reflects that serenity, and stays calm and peaceful.
I expect that’s why people enjoy the beach . . . the sea, sand, and sky are essential, not extraneous, elements. 😎
I have been clearing out as well, it feels so good to adorn the house for Christmas but so good to put things away and to give away… pretty post!!
Yes, JAS! Putting away the decorations => simplicity restored.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Ah, home. My home gives me that sense of zen, indeed. Wherever I look is a piece of art, or a vintage family photo, or something meaningful in my life. I am nurtured, both emotionally and esthetically.
If we mindfully NOTICE what holds meaning for us . . . we grow in self awareness.
When we know WHO we are, we know HOW to live.
An excellent article to accompany my thoughts as I clean out my closet this week. 🙂
My closet is due for a clean out as well . . . it’s a never ending quest for order amid chaos. 😛
The problem is finding time to do it but I so agree, Nancy.
When my time is limited, I try to get the most Zen for my buck by clearing surface clutter . . . leaving the interior of cabinets, drawers, and closets for another day.
Lovely flowers!
Is that first piece yours, Nancy?
It’s wonderful!
🙂
It’s hanging in our living room . . . but Jill Barton painted it. Here’s the story behind it:
As always less is more!
When I visit a home that is full of clutter I feel ill at ease. My Mother is a typical example. She surrounds herself with relics and lives in the past. She is old before her time…
I feel the same when in homes with too many “knick knacks” and “paddywhacks” on display. Of course, extreme asceticism makes me uncomfortable too . . .
I don’t want to use a rock or a brick for my pillow at night. 😉
I love that feeling of coming home..even when it’s only been a couple of hours. Your home should be your sanctuary.
I know exactly what you mean . . . after running errands, visiting friends, or heading out and about for recreation, I almost always think as I walk through the door:
There’s no place like home. (Ruby Slippers optional) 😀
OOOh, this is beautiful and a motivator for me to reorganize our home. 🙂
I thought I had motivated MYSELF to do some clutter busting today. Not so. I only motivated myself to clear through some mental clutter and debris . . . while sitting in the sun reading An Open Heart by the Dalai Lama.
Ah, well . . . tomorrow’s another day. 😀
De-cluttering the bedroom right now. so much stuff!! This provides the perfect motivation…
We developed just such a motivation after a small flood required us to empty out the smallest room in the house (to replace the carpet). As more and more STUFF emerged from the room, we realized that we needed to replace our “packrat” mentality with a more dedicated resolve to keep clutter at bay.
Hope your bedroom re-do thrills you upon completion, Kate.
Thanks, Nancy 🙂
This is beautifully expressed. I’m going to print it out and post it on my bulletin board above my desk as a reminder of the beauty and serenity that surfaces when clutter, outside and inside our life, is cleared away.
walk in beauty.
Thanks, Joss! When we live amid beauty and serenity . . . we stumble less as the path unfolds before us.
Walk in beauty. 😀
I can’t work on an untidy desk, it irritates me and my mojo goes out the window!
When we de-clutter our home, a room,or our desk, we de-clutter our mind – and it feels so gooooood!
Same here. I don’t like working with piles of distraction in plain view. When I do our income taxes . . . I lay out everything I need in piles on the bed BEHIND me. 😀
Great post, Nancy. There is one trend of belief that the state of your home reflects the state of your mind, and that clutter and dirt attract negative energy. I know that if I get antsy and a little on the grumpy side, I just need to get up and clean something.
After my housekeeper cleans, my three dogs settle down. They don’t like a dirty house (especially the floor, which is their domain). I also sleep better at night after a housecleaning.
Thanks, Sandra. When we are “grumpy” . . . doing something often pulls us away from the non-productive “grumpy” thoughts and into the NOW.
Wax on. Wax off.
As you and your dogs have noticed, clean (and tidy) surfaces attract positive energy and contribute to more restful slumber.
Aah . . . that’s better.
O blessed simplicity.
I love gifts that are consumable. The clutter of little things is my least favourite thing. I like art, but not clutter. Thankfully, I have fewer shoes now, but I still have about 30 pair from which to choose when I’m heading out.
I did do a major clean-up of my stickies that held a word that I’ll have to look up again, a name for gawd-knows-what, a string of numbers of unknown need, and phone numbers with no name. I have to hope none of them were for lotteries won and forgotten.
I’m with you, Amy! That’s why BFF and I gave each other CHOCOLATE for Christmas instead of STUFF.
Maybe you could use a notebook as a repository for sticky notes with potentially important info . . . the combination to your treasure chest, winning lottery numbers, the phone number of your rich uncle in Kalamazoo, and the number of the local shoe store. 😉
Now I know why I sleep better at night if the house is clean. Just got to work on clearing out a little more unnecessary clutter and harmony should prevail.
I definitely notice a change in my energy level from BEFORE Clutter Busting to AFTER.
Part of that is just the sense of accomplishment . . . but the lasting effects are better “Feng Shui.”
Here’s to Household Harmony!
I’m a minimalist, definitely!
Does sharing the roof with five other people challenge the minimalist in you?
I know that I would have even LESS stuff if I didn’t share the space with BFF. We each have items that tug at our heart strings every time we consider jettisoning them from our lives.
I have become a minimalist, haha. Moving from a 3-bedroom house into a bedsitter, I could hardly do better although I still have too much stuff and too few cupboards! I must say, though I find myself more relaxed than ever and not hankering for more possessions – brilliant!
That’s been our experience, Denise. Since 1999, we’ve gone from 5 bedrooms/3 baths to 2 bedrooms/2baths . . . downsizing STUFF all the way. Very liberating.
There is NOTHING we’ve released from our grasp that I would recall ~ although I do miss my piano on occasion.
As within, so without. I’m ‘clearing out the clutter’ on all fronts. Loved this post today, thank you. xoxo
I’m working up the motivation to do a bit more clutter busting myself. When we moved here, we brought ALL our clothes . . . including winter clothes I haven’t worn in 3 years.
Time to donate a bit more of the assundry accumulation in the kitchen too ~ we have more plates and glasses than we will ever utilize fully.
I am the guiltiest clutterbug around 😉
Better than being a litterbug! 😉
I definitely agree. One of my favourite activities is sorting out the clutter in my house – no feeling compares to that amazing sense of relief when the task is done!
Every time we drop off donations at Goodwill . . . we are filled with GOOD feelings. As if we’ve lightened out load a bit.
I’m getting ready to tackle all our closets for a “spring” cleaning. I also feel as if I’ve really accomplished something when they are sorted out again.
I cleaned up some closets this past weekend and it felt wonderful! For a while I really felt in the zone, going through every shelf, every nook and deciding what to do with what I found. When I was done, I had organized closets with things to throw away and others to donate.
Gosh I wish I was in the zone that often when I work!
Clearing clutter combines the mental and the physical. As a result, it tends to draw us fully into THIS moment, and we find ourselves “in the zone.”
It’s a great feeling to be FULLY PRESENT in the PRESENT . . . and have Clean Closets!
I’ve been trying to get my son to clean his desk for over two months now, but all he would do is re-stack everything. Tonight, I couldn’t take it anymore. He begged me not to do it, but we sat down and went through every stack and every drawer. He chose what got tossed, but I made him look at everything.
He carted off three armloads of trash. His desk looks good and he was so excited to see the top of it again, and to be able to open his storage drawers.
He declined my help with his room, though. (Darn.) 🙂
That’s awesome, Janna. Removing everything from a drawer, a closet, or a surface and making item by item decisions often does result in armloads (or truckloads) of “belongings” that we do NOT need to keep.
Maybe his feelings of excitement about his desk will cause him to tackle his room? (Fingers crossed).
I so need to make my house Zen. I did finally take down my little bit of Christmas decorations. So I accomplised something at least.
I hear ya! I have “enclaves” here and there throughout the house which need to be sorted out.
Zen = paying attention to one thing at a time. Trying to “Zen” an entire house is overwhelming. Decluttering one area at a time builds excitement for the task. Enjoy the process!
Ah yes, Nancy, I’ll get there one day… 🙂
When I think about all the STUFF we STILL have “squirreled away” . . . it’s shocking. 😯
It’s like one of those math questions:
If John and Suzy have donated carload after carload of STUFF each year for the past X years, and they still have MOUNTAINS of STUFF left . . . how much STUFF did they have BEFORE they started getting rid of STUFF?
Since moving is in the picture for us this year, I am already visualizing my new space… Zen like is part of it. 🙂
I wish I had realized sooner that LESS is MORE! 😀
Good luck with the move!