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Spring has sprung - time for a clear out!



It is spring here in Australia and it is time to refresh, renew and repair. We have opened our windows for the first time since winter and felt the cool breeze ruffle the slow and steady winter energy.

I am sure I speak for many Australians when I say, I am immediately inspired to Spring clean. With the windows open I can smell a hint of dry grass and hear a few members of the cricket and cicada orchestra warming up for their upcoming summer performance. Off come the extra blankets and doona’s ready for the wash, rubber gloves on, music pumped up and away I go. The outdoor areas and forgotten furniture are also welcomed into the fold after their cold and lonely winter hibernation.

However, the house isn’t the only thing that calls for my attention.

This Spring it is my heart and soul that speak the loudest. “Hey, down here! Look in this corner and at the back of this shelf” Memories, like layers of dust that I am just now noticing although they been present for years, glare at me, ready for some sort of action. Do I wipe them away? Do I pretend I didn’t notice and hope they will fade into the background once more?

In the spirit of Spring I have decided to do a full on clear-out. Vacuumed, dusted, sugar soaped and bleached if necessary. I’m talking about scrubbing brushes and gumption, vinegar and eucalyptus, steel wool and hydrochloric acid!
 
 

Each memory, good and bad, will be placed under the microscope. What happened? How did I feel? Why did I react a certain way? Was I kind to myself? Did I hurt another? Why? As a more spiritually developed grown up (I hope) I will investigate these seemingly random memories from a kinder, more understanding viewpoint. In the final cleaning and clearing process there will be gratitude for my past, love for the little girl, troubled teenager and young woman who survived it all and did the best she could, given the circumstances, and finally to achieve the glistening sparkle of repair, there will be a polishing of forgiveness.

Spring cleaning can be a huge job, but well worth the effort. Once done we are free to move into the high, hot energy of Summer. Scrubbed, buffed and shiny.

It is true that sometimes it takes the full three months of Spring to obtain that clean, fresh feeling, that energetic pull of renewal and newness, the feeling that drove you to start cleaning in the first place. Regardless of the task ahead, with Summer calling my name, I for one, have my sleeves rolled up and am already elbow deep in warm soapy water.

Who knows, I may even renovate the basement!
 
 

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