Spring Cleaning For The Soul

In about an hour spring will arrive. At least according to the radio. It's a little hard to believe with 5 feet of snow on your lawn and 7 feet of snow along each side of the driveway. "Baby it's cold outside." But, heedless of what it looks like or feels like outside, spring arrives. I always dreaded 'Spring Cleaning' ... with it's enormous tasks and the crazed look that Joe gets in his eyes as he decides to 'spruce up' the house. I try to sit quietly here in my office or slink unnoticed into the bedroom to read, but suddenly he's there and obviously cleaning while I am equally obviously not ... it's never a nice time in our relationship.

But this is a different kind of spring cleaning. It's a 'welcome the warmth by creating warmth' project that takes 7 weeks. The goal is to brush away the cobwebs in mind and heart. The way it works is that you chose one day a week, for seven weeks, and on that day you do a 'spring cleaning' project. I'm doing it this year and will blog in seven weeks time about the project. Several people at my place of work, Vita, are taking on the project at work ... I'm going at it both professionally and personally.

Here's the tasks, note you will not neet a mop, a bucket, or a glare at your spouse to accomplish any of these.

1) Thank someone who has been kind to you, someone who has provided you with support, someone you have leaned on. Even if you've thanked them before, thank them again. Tell them that they matter in your life, that you appreciate what they do for you.

2) Do something nice, anonymously, for someone who is having a bad day, a bad time or is going through something rough. Let them know that there is someone out there who is rooting for them, who wants to bring them a moments joy. Never tell them it was you, keep it a secret not only from the person you did it for but from everyone.

3) Call someone you don't see often enough and go out for tea, or coffee, or a beer. Reconnect with them, when together share a happy memory from the past. Remind each other why you are friends and why it's important to get together every now and then.

4) Send a funny card, for no reason at all, to someone who lives far away. Jot a note inside about how often you think of them and that you hope all is well in their lives. Giggle about the card, giggle about your life, giggle. Forwarding an email doesn't count here, it's gotta be a card, something that arrives in the regular post.

5) Vary a routine. Drive a different way to work, sit in a different seat at a meeting, have a different breakfast, We all get into patterns where we don't have to think or notice much, shake things up, rearrange pictures on a wall, the stuff on your desk - look at the world with new eyes.

6) Do a random act of kindness for someone you don't know and won't ever see again. Just something small, they may not even notice much, but do it just for the joy of being nice, of being kind ... spend a day saying 'please and thankyou' get back in the habit of being grateful.

7) Forgive yourself, for a whole day, be kind to yourself. Brush away negative thoughts about who you are and what you do, love yourself the way you want to be love, accept yourself the way you want to be accepted. Negativity creeps in, steals self esteem, and leaves bitterness behind. Push it aside for the day. Be glad you are you. Wish only to be authentically you.

Well, that's it, not so daunting is it? It's a heck of a lot better than washing windows (?) and sweeping out the garage (??) isn't it? Let me know if you are in, and how it goes.

Welcome Spring ... did you bring me something?