Outer Order - Inner Calm

 

When the pandemic first began, we did a LOT of decluttering. We rearranged furniture and created space as we entered a time of needing to spend the majority of our time at home. After the Boston Marathon bombings, we did a massive decluttering of our home and had a company come to haul away what was once stashed in our dormer, basement and closets that we no longer needed. If anything were to happen to my husband and me, we did not want our adult children left with sorting through what we collected through decades of being together. 

This summer has been one of the 6th hottest on record in Boston. We endured our fourth heat wave this past week. While I am deeply grateful to air conditioning, I have a love/hate relationship with it. I don't sleep as well when the windows are closed with the a/c on. I feel confined when it's unhealthy to be outdoors and the heat index is over 100 degrees. After several days of heat advisories, I needed to do something to elevate my mood. Options were a bit limited again as cases of COVID with the variant are on the rise and there is a new indoor mask mandate. While we continued to go on our runs, we had to limit time outside.

It was time to look around the house and create outer order to feed my inner calm that was waning with the news of booster shots, mask mandates and continued division in our country. People tend to forget that there is more to unite us than there is to divide us. I am blessed that my Facebook news feed is filled with quotes from light workers and I stay closely connected with those who express love and light in their quotes. I continue to resist the temptation to go to CNN.com or click on what's trending on Twitter that will invariably take me down the rabbit hole of negativity.

Ruth Anne and I cleaned out clothes in her closet. What a delicious feeling to donate clothes that were reminders of a time when she was struggling with her health. She helped me go through the linen closet, the kitchen and Tom and I decided to rearrange the home office. On September 17th, he bids his 6 1/2 year technology career at Boston College farewell. He is eligible for retirement at almost 70 years old and we had planned for retirement next Spring. But sometimes the Universe has other plans. We decided to take a collective leap of faith. To calm the butterflies, we created outer order with a cleaner look to our space in the office and living room. Tom was able to create inner space by doing exit interviews with upper management explaining why he was leaving. It was liberating for him to share why he needed to leave and the toll it was taking on his health and life/work balance.

Classes start on Tuesday for Ruth Anne and will be hybrid in person and on line. We are excited that she will be able to be on campus where everyone must be vaccinated. While there is an air of excitement, we  could anticipate this transition with greater joy if the pandemic were completely behind us. But we move forward celebrating health and well-being, the gift of the vaccine and trust that soon the pandemic will be a distant memory. Her room is arranged and ready for a successful semester of studies and working part-time.

As she was anticipating her schedule for the semester, she briefly became anxious and overwhelmed. She realized that something had to go as her schedule was too cluttered. While she dearly loves ReVision Urban Farm and planned to volunteer every other week at their stand at the Farmer's Market, she realized it would not afford her the opportunity to get her Saturday run on and be available for group projects as the semester gathered momentum.

We composed an email to the staff at the Farm and breathed a collective sigh of relief that we decluttered our Saturday schedule.

What a productive day of decluttering in many ways and on many levels for Team McManus! It felt so good to to take a deep breath and prepare to enter a new season with lots of open space on the calendar, in our physical space in the house and in our inner space. We spent time together, unplugged processing how we are coping with the ongoing pandemic and discovering what we need to thrive and have a sense of well-being during these turbulent times. Every month I change up my twice weekly strength training routine. As I turned the page in my journal, I looked through its pages. I tore off the pages that held energy from the past and created space to energize a future of abundance, health and well-being. I decluttered my email and updated social media photos.

As the heat wave broke in the evening, we opened the windows and turned off the air conditioners. In the stillness of evening we sat and listened to the crickets who loudly sang their song. They were inviting us to embrace the season of change, transitions and letting go of what we no longer need in our lives.

Embracing Change

As leaves' vibrant green begins to fade
crickets' song grows louder
as sun sets earlier every day
change is on the horizon.

Autumn's splendor on its way
nature's ebb and flow
juxtaposition of beauty and loss
heralding a new season.

Surrender to seasons of life
Divine Love surrounding
tempers fear of a trembling heart
heartful of faith.

Tempest of emotions
quieted in stillness
serenaded by sounds of silence
ready to embrace change.

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness,
Mary

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