Wednesday, this week, I was sat in the market gardens, soaking up some vitamin D, when a young woman approached me with a flyer about an event that evening at the KindaCafe on Castlemeadow.
The event was called 'Wise Living by Ana' all about caring for your home naturally.
I already try to clean with bicarb of soda and vinegar; I like random events and I'm keen to run workshops myself so, all in all, I was interested in checking it out.
I'm really glad I did!
Ana aims for simplicity in life and in her home. She explained and demonstrated some home-made cleaning products; she taught us how to wash up (without a bowl!?!) in a less water-wasteful way and she talked about integrating yourself into your home more by only surrounding yourself with things you love.
This was refreshing as I've tried the minimalism thing but it often feels ruthless to start only to dwindle into nostalgia. You're left feeling either unfulfilled by a half done attempt at binning everything or regret at having actually binned everything! The way Ana explained it was more along the lines of examining each item in your house, starting with your clothes, and asking yourself if you love that item, whether it brings you joy. Even if it's a useful item, if it doesn't bring joy then consider if there is another way of doing the same functional task but in a more joyful way. Even if you end up with only a few clothes and no hoover (oh yes, hoover, its happening!) which ever way you look at that method, it certainly can't be described as ruthless and there will be no mistakes like there can be when you do ruthlessly throw out keepsakes with all the clutter.
How does this relate to health?
Well, surrounding yourself with loved items and letting things go may be an easier starting place for some people instead of trying to work on themselves from the inside out.
The Law of Cure is that disease will work its way from inside to out but if there's too much going on then perhaps starting with the outside layers, peeling them off and working inward would be more effective. Peeling off or surrounding yourself with beauty and joy - both are very liberating.
The Metta Bhavana meditation practice (Loving Kindness) is about sending love - starting with yourself and working outward to friends, neutral people, difficult people and finally to all beings - but not everyone finds it easy to love themselves first. So perhaps Ana is right and we need to love our home and our belongings and surround ourselves with love to start from outside in so we can work inside out.
Doctor in the House (yes, love it!) demonstrated how our surroundings can reflect where we're at when he visited a woman suffering from depression (originally stemming from grief and loss). Her house was cluttered and overwhelming. Her rooms were filled with possessions from her bereavement piled haphazardly on top of her own stuff and she didn't know what to do with it all. Humans are amazing at living around and adapting to a situation - but to the point of forgetting that living like that is not their normal. It becomes their 'normal' and they lose their way. Once this woman started to heal, her home was also put back in order.
I've done this myself. I was in a state of flux and you could tell this just from looking at my home. Things were in bin bags, I'd reduced my belongings down but the remnants hadn't been thrown out yet. I didn't know where I was at and neither did my belongings.
If we view our homes as an extension of our own energetic space we can heal our homes to heal ourselves (there's something in it because we buy our homes based on more than aesthetics - we need to feel right in that space and we affect the way a space feels way beyond simply filling it with objects; the smell of bread baking or coffee simmering - #house-seller hacks!)
So, let things go rather than throwing things away. If they no longer serve you by bringing you joy, let them go. Donate them so perhaps somebody else will get to enjoy them. If you can find a way of loving your home, your home will love you and then, hopefully, you can find ways from there to love yourself. A key part of healthy living.
Ana's workshop was very informal, inspiring and she put forward a strong case for simplifying life. Keep an eye out for similar events at KindaCafe called Wake-Up Wednesdays.
Future blogs:
- Detoxing: physically and emotionally (includes letting go of toxic relationships)
- Grief and bereavement
Check out:
http://missingkind.org/ Ana also runs a workshop on How to be a Healthy Vegan at the KindaCafe
http://www.norwichbuddhistcentre.com/ drop-in beginners classes available throughout the week
https://www.freebuddhistaudio.com/audio/details?num=M11B a Metta Bhavana recording