Sentimental Sunday: November 28, 2020 - Post #2576

Ah. It is Sunday again, which means that I go into my post archives and focus my attention on past me to see what lessons I have learned from past me...

Today's post is #2576. This post was written on November 28, 2020 and was two days before my Dad's last hospital visit and his death six weeks later. I was finishing up my Thanksgiving break and was bemoaning (a bit) my lack of organization and desire to clean my environment - common theme on this blog - I was also advertising my sing about songs - something I do on an occasional basis. 

Poor past me - there were lots of changes coming for her. Lots of things that we have to figure out very quickly in the next six weeks - lots of things that change because Dad will be gone soon. Even two and a half years later, the emotions are always there.

Reading through all of these older posts help me identify trends in my current life that are ongoing. The theme of physical decluttering is one that always comes up in this blog - it is my biggest challenge. I like stuff, and I have little interest in getting rid of my stuff. I want all my stuff, but I want it organized and looking like less clutter. To get it that way, I have to invest in storage - that gets expensive, so I can't do things as quickly as I would like to... to be honest, I wish I could nod my head and have things go where they can be easily accessed and out of the regular way, but I do not have that super power yet...

Interestingly, for me, I was watching a video by a YouTuber named Jashi Corrin who does lots of bullet journaling who was talking about the mental decluttering that I mentioned on this post from the past. Things seem to work out and messages from the universe appear to arrive when you need them the most - apparently I need to spend some time engaging in some mental decluttering and some reflexive journaling practices. The universe is speaking to me...

I find that these posts often remind me that many of the things that I criticize myself for doing are things that I have always been criticized for doing. Some of the critical aspects have come directly from my brain, but others are rooted in what those others have thought I "should" be doing or not doing. It is interesting how messages from others can become internal criticisms that remain long after those others have left your environment.

Clutter is always my downfall.

I like stuff. I see potential in all sorts of stuff, and I find it difficult to give up things that I have made plans to use. It just takes me lots of time to get through all of my planned ideas because they aren't as simple as I think they will be when I keep things around. Since I like stuff, I tend to have lots of it.

In my house, I have enough room for all of my stuff, but I do not have the storage capabilities. I have lots of room but not many shelves. I need more places to contain my stuff, but those cost money. The good news is that my town, a college town, is getting ready for back-to-school sales, so I should be able to find some shelving for sale prices pretty soon. Then, I can assemble the shelves and have more places to contain some of my stuff.

Lots has happened in the past three years. It is amazing to look back a bit and reflect on where I was - what hasn't changed and what has changed. That's my main purpose with these Sentimental Sunday posts - evaluating my life based on my current life quests and seeing what still challenges me.

Thanks for reading.