I once asked a question on facebook, something to the effect of..
‘How do you listen to your voice amidst the noise?’

And there were many interesting responses. The journey of listening to the tiny whispers amidst the daily noise, the willingness to pause to breathe so that we may discover the richness of the moment instead of the mindless chasing of a future. Isn’t that what the life of life is all about?

I think it is more than ten years back, I gifted a book ‘The Tao of Womanhood’ to my friends and colleagues, Anu and Arun Wakhlu. Arun pulled out a piece from that which has stayed with me. I wrote it down in my ‘planner’ which had many quotations which are my favourite ones. In one of my trips I lost the planner but not the wisdom of these lines:

‘Misogi’
in Japanese means clearing away everything that doesn’t
contribute to your work of art in this life.

Cluttered table-tops, cluttered cupboards,
Cluttered calendars, cluttered lives.
Clutter strangles the spirit and robs us of peace and power.

Being filled full is not the same as being fulfilled.
Let there be spaces in our lives to move and breathe.

– Diane Dreher in ‘The Tao of Womanhood’

One of the precious books to help you do ‘Misogi’ is ‘Clear your clutter using feng shui’ – Karen Kingston. Some of you may get turned off by the word ‘Feng Shui’ but I recommend that you don’t throw the baby out with what seems like bathwater to you 😉

Today, could you look around you and see in which area of your life do you need to clear away that which does not contribute to your work of art. And make the clearing away gentle. It could be your home, your bathroom, your office, your relationships, your thoughts. Take a baby step or a bigger step, and notice how that makes you feel. And what that does to your being present in the richness of the moment.