Flossing By Tossing

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 11:01 AM I cleared the kitchen table of books. Peace promotion.

I tossed a few things into the garbage as I went about clearing my dining table of a couple dozen books and such. A few old Amazon.com padded envelopes that I’d been saving to use again. “I rarely ship anything and they’re gathering dust.” A pair of tattered work pants on which I was going to try to iron a patch. “These inexpensive pants have served me well and this doubtful patch would only give them a brief extension.” So, without undue remorse, I gave them the heave-ho.

The intent of the mini-project, after all, was streamlining, and it applies to projects and proposed projects and stand-alone tasks, actions, and the like. The key, or at least a key to experiencing abundant time is to energetically and aggressively toss things from my life and mind. It reminds me of Thoreau’s injunction (included with some of its context):

"Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail."

http://www.geocities.com/thoreaulogy/08sep.html

I don’t aspire to Henry’s level of simplicity, but the principle beckons me.