It's no secret that I've been a stress-puppy lately. And, without the prospect of a 3-week retreat in the country, I figured I'd have to perform my own psychotherapy on the run.
I started yesterday by cleaning my desk... and it's helping.
First, I took one of those cardboard filing boxes. The kind you get from Office Depot. I filled it with all the stuff littering my desk: things to be filed, pictures, paid bills, check stubs, the general paper pile-up that I mentally label "stuff I need to take care of some day". At the same time, I filled a garbage bag with the junk that gets mixed in with the "gotta keep" stuff.
And you know what I discovered? The top of my desk! But more than that, the little bits and pieces I keep on my desk as reminders of what's important and why I sit there day after day doing my job.
Everything on my desk means something to me. I couldn't stand the thought of having a perfectly functional desktop space.
1. Pictures of the kids, my parents, grandparents, Avindair - Family is important to me. My family is my center.
2. A clay Star Wars Emperor Palpatine head - Alex made this in school. I keep my pens in it!
3. A 3-inch tall straw maid - A gift from a cast-member in a show I did - years ago. A reminder that am creative.
4. A stuffed toy frog - A gift from my (now deceased) Uncle Dale when I was a kid. It reminds me of his wonderful, positive personality, how much he believed in me, and frogs are a symbol of good in many cultures: luck, abundance, life and rebirth.
5. A purple, hand-made, mirrored box holding a Sakajawea dollar, a green stone, and two rings - The color of the box is a reminder of independence and free spirit. One ring, my Brownie ring from grade school, is a link to the past. The other, a gift from my daughter. The coin, is something quirky - not popular, but still valuable. The stone was something I chose to bring home as a momento from traveling; it's smooth, vaguely heart-shaped, and a beautiful shade of my favorite color.
6. Five little action figures - A chick in black holding a cup of coffee, Wonder Woman, a barbarian woman, another female fighter with a sword, and Wolverine... 'cause he's hot.
7. A 4-inch glass heart - A gift from my mom. That says it all.
8. A seashell - From a family trip to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Lots of symbolism in this one - family, nature, freedom and order -- and it's green, too.
9. A little toy lion - For courage and strength.
10. A small, silver, hand-made, heart-shaped box - From one of my best friends as she traveled the world to Oman in the military.
11. A tall, colorful witch - Light-hearted reminder that being mindful and spiritual is to make one happy and not somber.
If you could look around my office, you'd see books of every description stuffing three big bookshelves (and I need more bookshelves), more family pictures, comic book art, games, computer stuff, music, action figures, kid's art, starship models. One look at my surroundings and I'm reminded of why I do what I do -- and what my priorities should be.
It's easy to get off track - to stop seeing what's right in front of me. I realize now that my desk is like my "Work Altar", giving me encourage and perspective to do what I need to do. What I started yesterday isn't a cure... not by a long shot... but it's a start!
1 comment:
Oh, I get that, hon. In fact, one of my hug to-dos for the week is finding all of the Pray for Daylight-related stuff -- short of the actual duplication disc -- and storing it all in its own box in the garage. Just clearing that clutter will help me reclaim ninety-percent of my desk.
I'm also planning on storing the two sixty-gig and the one 300 GB drives, too. I'll take the other 300 GB drive out of storage tha currently has the PFD stuff on it, clear it off, and use it as my external drive. In short, I'm cleaning my workspace to make way for the future.
So yeah, I get it. Completely.
Post a Comment