Discardia: 20 Jun 2008 - 2 Jul 2008
Discardia is celebrated by getting rid of stuff and ideas you no longer need. It's about letting go, abdicating from obligation and guilt, being true to the self you are now. Discardia is the time to get rid of things that no longer add value to your life, shed bad habits, let go of emotional baggage and generally lighten your load. - Dinah Sanders
Discardia was the theme of today's a2b3 Thursday lunch.
We talked of family emptying years of accumulation as their inheritances, including removing acres of scrap metal from a farm, organizing two day long estate sales, auctioning old books off by the case, and dealing with the environmental impact of 200 old tires. Some of that meant quite a bit of money and some family bonding time; others of it was stories of incredible hassles.
Balancing that, of course, was the urge to collect, whether it be Nigerian fraud email, fairy door drawing from your kids, books you've read or would like to read, web pages about Ann Arbor, handwritten notebooks, online notebooks, or any of the things in the physical world. Physical world stuff - tools, two-by-four remnants, scrap metal, pig-themed trinkets, fish-themed trinkets, books, books, more books, paper (sorted or unsorted) take up a lot more space, but the online things occupy your brain too.
What are you doing for discardia? We've been emptying kitchen cupboards of unused pans - one piece that's on its way out is a broiling pan (Not Much Use In A Vegetarian Household).
It has been my experience that clearing clutter is an ongoing process. Clutter creep accummulates gradually so we have learned to constantly remove, file or display items on a regular basis.
Moving helps, too!
The good news about continual clutter clearing is that we feel better able to focus on present matters and enjoy our beautiful Feng Shui surroundings.
Posted by: James Allen | June 19, 2008 at 08:34 PM
I would say one of the greatest lessons of my year spent writing every day about Discardia was the internalization of recognizing my choice in what enters my life and therefore can clutter it up.
This is everything from trivial things like being very conscious of those little checkboxes on forms that you can uncheck to get less mail in the future to choosing where to invest your retirement money so you aren't funding things that will make the world you'll live in when you retire unpleasant.
Physical habits need to change, yes, but also mental ones, and beyond that the greatest benefit comes from changing your world view which creates your habits.
Things you might consider discarding:
- the illusion that what you do doesn't affect other people
- the illusion that U.S. citizens don't have to be concerned with the rest of the world
- the illusion that you can safely go through your life only listening to people who you already agree with
It makes me very happy that other people have found this idea of Discardia - and the reminder the holiday provides - to be inspiring.
Enjoy letting it go!
Posted by: Dinah | June 20, 2008 at 10:57 PM