Finding Balance

With my last post I wrote about having too much stuff out of fear of the "what if's" and that is a part of why some hold on to to many objects. However, as in all things, there needs to be a balance and my wise husband reminded me last night of the other side of the pendulum. People with many interests and many hobbies can't live with every horizontal surface empty. And then I remembered my mother who was a true intellectual saying many times that "only boring people have immaculate houses" which was in part her justification for her numerous interests laying around the house. No one would have ever accused my mother of being boring, she was one of the most interesting women I have ever known but that also meant there were bookcases all over the house, new hobbies here and there and things purchased out of a new interest and that made her someone you enjoyed talking to, and always learned from.

On the other side, we have all meet someone with a sparkling clean house that was really kind of a bore, all they do is clean and organize and talk about just that. Not many deep and profound discussions come out of their mouths and you often hear them say, "I'm bored". When I was growing up, saying we were bored was next to a sin of sorts. We heard many times that being bored was akin to saying our brain must be on vacation. There is a great big world out there waiting to be explored ! My children all knew that saying they were bored, meant momma was going to find some work for them to do !

So, here I sit at my desk, surrounded by things that don't have a proper place but things that make me who I am. A Chinese medicine book that I needed the other day to check out something. Copies of Mother Earth News that I am trying to decide if I need to keep of get rid of. A Crow caller, for calling crows. They are a favorite bird of mine. There is note paper, a magnifying glass for checking out the fossil I found at the park two days ago. That's just a sample of the stuff around me. Throughout my house you will find things like piles of wool in a couple baskets waiting to be spun into yarn, and two stacks of fabric cut for a baby quilt. Cupboards in the kitchen that contain soap making needs and another one with big slabs of beeswax and bayberry wax. Right now in the living room there are baskets of pine cones and herbs hanging from the beam to dry. A big old wooden bucket of kindling and a pile of wood next to the stove.

There are toys for grandblessings out for them to explore and have easily accessible, not hidden away just to make the room look neater. Play cloths hanging from the peg rack in the hallway, easy for tiny hands to grab and transform into so many things.

We are a sum of our thoughts and to be honest, I want to be a bit more than just a perfectly clean house with nothing in the corners. I paint, I read, I knit, I spin, I sew, I cook, I garden, I love nature, I take photos, I love old things, and those things require space. And I like to think that I am interesting and can honestly say, the only time I have been bored in my life is when I am sick and can't do the things I love.

Motivation by fear is not a good reason to hold on to things, but being prepared for real emergencies that could pop up is a good thing. In life, balance is best !