SPRING CLEANING
DIY: Inside and Out

What is it about Spring that makes us want to open the windows and let the sunshine in? Is it just the warmer weather? Is it the new growth in nature we see on the trees and flowers that sprout up from the ground? Spring is often a time of rebirth for us. A fresh start, a new beginning as we turn the first season of the year. What about the windows to our soul? Those dusty little corners that we tend to neglect until they are caked with grit and grime. Maybe Spring Cleaning is more about an opportunity for our hearts to awaken and be cleansed as we stretch ourselves, ready for the personal growth and possibilities that the new year could bring. Taking responsibility of our health is a goal we often think about in the new year. How are we going to take steps to feeling better physically and emotionally? What areas in our life have we been neglecting?

One of the many benefits of incorporating essential oils into your daily life for well-being is their ability to empower us to take charge of our overall health. They have this subtle yet profound way of strengthening our relationship with our body as we feel stronger when we use them. Maybe it’s the uplifting, clean atmosphere they create. Maybe it’s the emotions they bring forth as we breathe in the familiar scents that make us feel alive. Or it could be their preventative nature in helping us maintain our youth and vitality.

As we come into this new season of life, I’m looking forward to continuing to challenge myself to do the opposite of what I would normally do. To push myself out of my comfort zone. We all get stuck in patterns. Patterns of thoughts and daily habits. There’s a common cliché, “If you do what you’ve always done, you get what you’ve always gotten.” I do believe growth stems from coming out of our comfort zone.

Part of wellness for me has always been to challenge myself to do something different. I love finding new approaches on how to live better. I look at areas in my life that need the most attention. Maybe it’s my digestion, maybe it’s my skin or hair that I’m looking to improve. I think the most important thing to getting results is to go beyond your normal routine. We tend to get set in our ways but it’s time like this that we need to think outside the box. The empowering thing is that it’s your choice on how big or small you want to make a change. It could be as simple as omitting a food in your diet that’s been nudging you to stop using, like sugar. Sometimes taking something out is better than putting something in. I found that when I became gluten and dairy free that the whole structure of my body changed. Inflammation that I had been storing in my system diminished greatly. This is a classic dietary scenario of taking something out. Eliminating those foods opened a whole new opportunity to not only feel better physically but to incorporate other things into my diet that are now benefiting me much greater.

One of the most important areas of our life for many of us, is our home. We all live differently and have our unique comforts. Some of us are clean freaks and don’t like clutter, while others don’t mind a little dirt and tend to pile things and adorn our homes with knickknacks galore. Have you ever thought about how your environment is serving your health and well-being? One of the things I did this past couple of years is get rid of clutter. I can’t say it was a lot of clutter, mostly decorations and trinkets that I’ve collected over the years. As much as I love having these mementos around, I decided to move into a different direction with my living space. Getting rid of clutter in your home serves more purposes than just removing stuff. It frees you up mentally. We tend to stay focused on our stuff because focusing on our stuff doesn’t challenge us. I think one of the most incredible things about simplifying your living space is the freedom and energy it gives you to focus on other things. But that’s the challenge. By getting rid of stuff it opens this other door. This door can lead to many other things, sometimes scary things. Facing our true self is never easy. It takes courage to chase after what we really want. Yet, it could lead to those opportunities that we’ve been keeping on the back burner, saving for a “better” time, the adventures that we’ve been waiting to take. When we aren’t bogged down by stuff we can better focus on our personal goals. Maybe it’s a dream we’ve had stored up for a long time that wants to surface and have a go. After all, isn’t that why we are here on earth? To chase our dreams? To stretch ourselves? I know that when I get to the end, I want to be able to say that I lived my life to its fullest.

Another area of clutter is the hurts and conflict in our relationships that we can hold onto that keeps us from living our best life. One of my constant focuses is forgiveness. Being human, we are in a continued state of relational challenges. The conflicts that we experience can have a lasting effect on our emotions and personal growth. If you’re the type of person to hold onto pain, you know how stifling it can be. Our inability to forgive builds up walls around us. We all experience pain and suffering, but how we process it is completely different. In our volatile societies we are challenged more than ever to stay true to ourselves. Unfortunately, when we don’t forgive we project our fears onto others and they are seen in the walls we build up around ourselves. They become this protective armor to keep us safe. But all these walls do is keep joy out. If we can work through some of these barriers that we create, just taking one step at a time. These walls can turn into ladders of opportunity to serve each other. Ultimately, that is why we are here. To love one other while creating our dreams together.

So that’s my take on Spring Cleaning. Let’s get started. Inside and Out.