There is no persuasiveness more effectual than the transparency of a single heart, of a sincere life. -Joseph B. Lightfoot (1828-1889), English theologian, known for his absence of partisanship and sobriety of expression.
If you really want to go through a cleanse then sell your house and make a move! Really, I’m serious about this one! We are in the middle of building a new house and after 8 years in the same place we had to pack up and get out…even funnier, we had to make two moves…with five kids in tow! Why? Well at least I was smart enough to take my own advice and lowered my price until I sold the house and was able to negotiate a rent back agreement until after the holidays. Of course with delays the new house will not be completed until early spring so we had to rent another house. Well, being from a close knit family we decided to move into my parents house to give them a mortgage break…yes I’m back with mom and dad…the only difference is now I have a wolf pack with me! I understand that most of you are cringing at the thought of being anywhere close to your bloodline, but I have to say that this whole experience has been eye opening!
First of all, the move itself made me aware of how much “junk” you can accumulate over time almost to the point where my own consumerism was personally embarrassing! I could not believe the overflow of clothes, books, toys and other stuff we had packed away into the tiniest of corners…ironically I always remind our coaching students to be careful not to become “lead squirrels” and fill the tree so full that they forget to leave room to get back in the tree and freeze out in the cold! Well here I am, GUILTY! There is a silver lining because the discovery lead to getting together as a family to coordinate yard sales and giveaways, which turned out to be great lessons for the kids: sales and charity…good stuff and we all had a blast!
Secondly, I realized that a major change like that really breaks you out of the patterns you are in! Talk about a cleanse…it’s more like a dehypnotizing! I’ve heard the NLP crowd talk about changing state and modifying behavior but this really put it in perspective. I can’t tell you how many times I have headed home only to end up at my old house before I realized I was even headed that way! That really made me think…how many other pieces of my life are just conditioned responses to old behavior patterns…I feel like a real live guinea pig for all that I write about! (See my post: Spellbound Zombies)
Most Important is the connection or reconnection with family! Now it’s not like we all live thousands of miles apart and don’t interact, but when you move in together you see things you just don’t normally see and have all the miscellaneous interactions that you might not otherwise have when you are locked down in your own world! In many cultures outside the United States, living together is nothing new, but for us it’s like a good punch line to a bad joke! I have to say it has been hilarious! Everyday there is something ridiculous that happens and we all fall apart laughing…if there are any producers out there I have a great sitcom for you! You talk about reality TV…this is unbeatable!
The timing of this whole event has mysteriously lined up with my indulgence in social media and the crazy extension has been that I have reconnected with people I grew up with that I have not seen or heard from in over 25 years and the truth is…this just all feels right! The part that strikes me the most is that not only do I feel that I have come out of a trance, but I feel like I have literally climbed out of a cacoon only to realize how great it is on the outside. The foundation of all of this is transparency! The chance for us to be “out there” for anybody to see! I remember back in high school getting a Sony Walkman when they first came out and having my track coach tell me that the invention would be the death of communication as we withdrew into our own private world…looking back I’m not so sure he was wrong! However, the great news is that it’s that same technological innovation that is reconnecting us! So whether it’s a physical move or an internet connection it really doesn’t matter it just might be time for you to take a transparent, “see through” cleanse…it’s good for the soul!
Tags: Motivation, Self Improvement
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