Tidying Up Forgiveness

You’ve probably heard of Marie Kondo the creator of the KonMari method.  She is a master organizer, consultant and best selling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (2011) and listed as one of Time’s 100 most influential people of 2015. 

I first heard about her while listening to the Tim Ferriss podcast and was so intrigued by her unique way of teaching people how to declutter their spaces and organize their lives.  The method entails taking an item and asking yourself if it sparks joy.  If it does you keep it, if it does not you thank it for being in your life, donate it and move on.  You end with less clutter and only items surrounding you that give you joy. You also end up feeling less guilty for no longer wanting the item, knowing that it will go to someone else who may need it more than you and actually use it.  Your life is truly changed when you eliminate the things you really don’t need.  Things that are merely taking up space.

I’ve recently pondered over this idea of “tidying up” the home and wondered how this method might translate into other areas of our lives.  I began to think of the big ticket items that we all struggle with the most.  The ones that we want to release out of our lives and minds in hopes of achieving something greater, achieving peace.  The one that was placed on my heart was the act of forgiveness & the obstacles we face when trying to let go, forgive and move on.  Can we get rid of hurt and anger as easily as that pair of jeans that no longer fit us?

I struggle with forgiveness.  I find it hard to let go when someone wrongs me, hurts me.  It’s not enough to simply rid my life of the individual. I tend to harbor resentment and hurt feelings that I simply can’t shake. That isn’t healthy for my mind body or my spirit.  Would forgiveness be easier if I was able to sincerely thank that person who hurt me? No, not literally thanking them for hurting me, but rather thank them for the good times.  What if I used the KonMari method of tidying spaces for forgiveness instead, for tidying my heart?

Think of someone who has hurt you in the past that you can’t seem to forgive.  What if we were to thank them for their service; for the good times and all the joy that person once gave to us?  In our hearts we already know they don’t “spark joy” for us anymore, the relationship is over, but we thank them for being in our life when they did provide value and joy and proceed to mentally and spiritually move that person and our negative feelings about that person into a virtual box, close the lid and send it out into the universe. 

You wouldn’t let someone you didn’t like, someone who wronged you terribly move into your home would you?  So why let them continue to live in your heart?  Holding onto hurt and anger only takes up space in our hearts. I’m not sure if I’m onto something great or simply wishful thinking.  I’m not certain it will work, but I do think that it’s definitely worth a try. 

**On a side note if you haven’t listened to the Tim Ferriss podcast I highly recommend it.  He interviews the world's most successful people and so many times they have similarities as to why they are successful.  It’s a great listen, you always learn something and feel inspired by the amazing stories.  I would also recommend a couple of his books.  “Tool’s of Titan’s” & “Tribe of Mentors”