Spring Cleaning: Decluttering your Mental Space

Spring has finally sprung here in Charlotte which means lots of pollen, sunshine, and an overwhelming sense of awakening. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like they spend the first few weeks of spring shedding layers both literally and figuratively? Spring tends to shine a new light on things that looked much different in the darkness of winter. Those cluttered closets suddenly feel suffocating. Your pale legs could blind a small child. And your emotional baggage feels heavier now that you’re dragging it into the daylight instead of cozying up with it on the couch in the midst of yet another Netflix binge.

I find it’s no coincidence that spring is a season of rebirth. Flowers bloom, caterpillars morph into butterflies, and you emerge from the fog that’s been sitting on your soul. Speaking of butterflies, did you know that caterpillars are born with all of the parts necessary to become a butterfly later in life? Those parts just lay dormant until it’s time for the caterpillar to use them. I find that really comforting. I believe God does the same thing with each of us. We are all equipped with everything we need at any stage in our lives; some things just lay dormant until it’s time for us to use them.

I feel like this spring I’m reaching for internal tools I never knew I had or would need to use. It’s a complicated business, decluttering your emotional life. It’s as if we spend all this time collecting people, beliefs, and feelings. But we rarely take the time to sift through everything and decide “yup, okay, you stay, You? Toss.” It’s like that iconic scene from the S&TC movie when Carrie famously tries on all the outfits from her life and her friends sit on her bed voting Keep, Toss, or Storage.

Our physical surroundings get a clear out every so often. If you’re anything like me, every few months you grow restless and you march through your house ruthless with a black trash bag. But when was the last time you did the same with the emotional baggage you carry around?

It’s heavy. But letting things in our physical world go is much easier than mentally sending up the balloon of thoughts. Physical things take up space, they nag us and remind us they no longer serve a purpose in our lives. But without our attention, our emotional load (man, I hate that word) just continues to pile up until it’s all too much.

I’d like to encourage you to give yourself some time to sift through things internally and decide what stays and what goes. Give yourself permission to let go of the things that are weighing you down. Free up your mental space to allow for new and exciting things to come into your life.

The universe abhors a vacuum. But in order for fresh, new opportunities, people, experiences, you name it, to come waltzing into your life, first you have to make space.

What’s something you’ve been carrying around that you’re prepared to let go?