Exploration

"Exploration in conversation is sometimes very satisfying."  Catherine Aguilera

Expressing our thoughts aloud, sharing our anxieties, articulating our worries and our options

may help us clear the mental clutter and chatter that often seems to be a constant in our lives.

Spending time in conversation gives us the opportunity to articulate our feelings, as well as allows deeper connections with the people we choose as our listeners.

Talking often helps us peel off the layers that cloud certain thoughts and ideas.
And  allows us to go deeper and perhaps have an Aha moment in regard to a difficulty or challenge.

Make time in your life to build connections through heartfelt conversation.

Speaking of connections:  I will be disconnecting this next week.  From the phone, the Web and most things electronic.
I'm off on an adventure:  Relaxing, seeing new sights and hanging out with my family. Making time to make deeper connections.

Waffles.

Waffling between keeping an item or letting it go?
Ask yourself, "Would I buy it today?"
Your yes or no response will let you know if it will stay or go.

True you might have spent good money for it.
Or it is perfectly good or useful or hardly worn.
None of those are reasons enough to allot it space in your closet, drawer, or life now.

Surround yourself with the things you need, use, love and value in the life you are really living.

Giving up things that don't fit, you've kept out of guilt or obligation, unnecessary impulse purchases or
left overs from an activity you no longer have the time or energy for  will create room physically, mentally and emotionally in your home and life.

Make room for quiet, joy, love and connections.

When

was the last time you did something for the first time?

Something as simple as took a different route to work.
Or tried a new restaurant in the neighborhood.
Volunteered to be the Team Leader on a work project.
Hosted a family gathering at your house.
Signed up for a language class or the watercolor workshop.

Routines can assist us in simplifying the mechanics of daily living.
However, when routines turn into ruts, our lives become narrow and lose some of their spark.

Balancing simplicity with new experiences helps keep our lives interesting, and our hearts and minds engaged.

It doesn't matter if your 'first' is  jumping out of an airplane,
or  trying a soy latte.

New experiences create new pathways in our brains,
spark new thoughts and sensations, and open us up to new possibilities.

How many

is enough?

One, three, five, seven?

Jeans, coffee cups, pairs of shoes, unread magazines, old tee shirts...
Only you know the answer to that math story  problem.

More isn't better.  It is just more.
Anything more than enough is merely excess and can quickly become clutter.

Remember that ten of something isn't ten times better than one.  It is one, ten times over.
And that having one item of high quality is better than having four cheap ones.  

Decide the number that makes you feel comfortable.  The number you need and can use.
The number that fills your need for sentiment around a particular event.
Pare what you have down to the best, most meaningful, the ones that look fabulous on you, the number that you can reasonably store and access.

Once you're at the perfect number then it's time to practice the One In, One Out rule.
If you bring something new into the house, one thing that's there has to go.

Enough really is enough already!