Remember how I had this list of books I wanted to read and go through? My mom-in-law added to that list over Christmas (and hubby’s promised one as well) so the list just keeps growing. It’s good to learn eh? Anyways, I was pondering what book to pick up for today’s post and Pep Talks came to mind so here I am.
I was browsing through the table of contents when “accept the mess” caught my eye. So.. shall we, accept the mess?
Oh.. this chapter made me laugh. Oh my, it did. 🙂 I am just grinning as I write these words ACCEPT THE MESS!
But seriously …. it’s good to clean the house.. it is. I was raised that way. Unfortunately my mother NOR my mother-in-law live with me. They don’t.. and guess what.. THEY DON’T WANT TO. Bet you can’t guess the reason. 🙂 AND … it’s not because they don’t love me or care about me.. but MY style of living and THEIR style of living is well.. not quite a polar opposites.. but frankly I would rather write or do art or talk with my boy, or play a game or .. almost anything… then to get my house spotless. There is far too many interesting things in the world that get my attention than the cleanliness of my floors.. or the cobwebs in the corners.
So reading this post made me grin.
The author’s point is this NO ONE ever from their deathbed said “I wish I had cleaned my house more”. BUT there are lots of people who wish they had spent their times differently.. written that novel, gone on the cruise, played with their kids more…. or almost anything… but cleaning the house.. not even near that list.
If you want to be a writer, you need to think to yourself.. can I do that “housework” later? Can I let the mess around me inspire my brain synapses and just write? Can I just take that five minutes or hour and just spend that time writing and creating and let the mess take care of itself? Can I do that? Can YOU do that?
Just so you know.. YOU CAN.
Have you ever noticed that seriously creative people tend to have a less than tidy home? Did you know that messiness.. or helter-skelter room arrangements tend to foster creative and novel thoughts? Tidy rooms tend to foster tidy conventional minds. You are called therefore to let that messiness flourish when needed.
Mind.. you need to be concerned about others living with you and their sensitivities (ergo today I cleaned some stuff up in the bookroom) and tonight I sat and wrote. It’s good yes? But there are afternoons that I sit and write because well.. writing is something I love to do… and then rush through the dishes in the evening (so glad we have a dishwasher now.. like seriously).
“Give yourself a break and accept the mess — because you are immersed in a deep act of creation.” Realize your goals of creation. Decide when to make it important… it’s a good thing to do. 🙂
Learn more about this book through Raincoast.
or if you want to follow along, Amazon Link.
I’m one of those people that can’t think when the house is messy. For me, physical clutter equals mental clutter. I’m still working on finding balance 🙂
It’s interesting how we are all different eh, Jennifer? Its party of the beauty of this world and the people God created.
I like to keep one room clean, so I can go there when it is time to write, and not be bothered by the mess outside the door…which is usually one of my other projects waiting for me to get back to it!
ah… we all have our own ways of handling it don’t we? 🙂
This resonates with me so much! Not that we aren’t clean, we just are not super tidy and minimalist. I totally relate to the statement that certain spaces tend to foster certain types of thoughts and personalities. Focusing on what is important is the key, isn’t it?
yes… focusing on the important..