Declutter and clean up

You're a very busy packrat - you don't enjoy living among clutter, but you're just too busy to deal with it. You can't delegate the job to someone else you're the only one who knows what needs to stay and what can go. Swamped Stockpiler Kijiji declutter day

kijiji has declared today National Cleanup Day in the US. Doing the quiz I confirmed that I am 'swamped stockpiler' and the description is highly accurate. I'm however a slightly happier one. After a really difficult September and October, I finally met with my spiritual director after a 5 month break as she was traveling extensively. I do believe I 'm a bit depressed and probably Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) though normally this doesn't happen until February. But this summer was pretty rainy and a lot of other things this Fall have compounded things to make life pretty difficult and definitely dark for me.

Strange though once you know you're a bit depressed things are a little better because I found I wasn't living in the emotion as much. Also I had quite a few of the symptoms:

• A change in appetite, especially a craving for sweet or starchy foods
• A drop in energy level
• Fatigue
• A struggle to go to bed and a tendency to oversleep
• Difficulty concentrating
• Irritability and anxiety
• Increased sensitivity to social rejection
• Avoidance of social situations and a loss of interest in the activities you used to enjoy

Anyhow I've increased my meat intake and I'm eating more spicy food. I also noticed how dark my apartment was because I hadn't replaced burnt out light bulbs. I bought one daylight full spectrum bulb for the light fixture above my desk where I spend 90% of my awake time at home. I feel a little better but this maybe placebo effect, anyhow I probably need even more of those special light bulbs.

Bill Hybels wrote the book with a classic title Too busy not to pray. I know to my cost that getting the praying bit right is important and got back to journaling in October, and Spiritual Direction this past week. The prayer life of a person or a community is a thermometer of health. The individual's personal time with God and communal time with others. With the latter I am not merely talking about corporate sunday worship, nor fellowship but the need for another human being who listens and prays with us. I am currently mourning the loss of my Tuesday evening biweekly prayer meeting and at the same time pleased to have my spiritual director back.

Today I struggle again to clean up, to assert order in the aspects of my life. To bring light back into the dark corners. Back into the fray called life.

Remember him [Your creator]—before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless! Ecclesiastes 12:6-8