Win or Have Fun?

I had a sleepover with a granddaughter and we did the Wii Just Dance for our morning exercise. After each song, she would ask who won. Being the dancing diva that I like to pretend that I am, of course I won. I mean, I am competing with a four-year-old; I had better win or those years of dance lessons would have been wasted. Anyway, this sweet granddaughter kept feeling bad that I kept winning, not to mention the trash talk that I was dishing out (kidding, I'm cruel but not quite that cruel), and so I realized I had to let her win or have a different approach. The competitive spirit in me and the desire to really get a challenging work out couldn't let her win, and so when she would ask who won, I asked her if she had fun. When she said she did then I said she was a winner, and I had fun too so we both were winners. Pretty soon, after each song she was just saying, "I had fun, so I won!" A good way to approach all competitive sports, don't you think?

The Unmade Bed

How really important is it to make the bed every morning? I know that there is a comedian (I know his name starts with a G but the memory wheels are still churning, slower these days you know...Gaffigan, that's it) who says that making the bed every morning is like tying your shoes after you take them off. Does seem kind of silly but...

For years, because a certain person got up later than I did, I stopped making my bed regularly and really convinced myself that it wasn't that important to go back up to my room and make the bed. Now for me, I think otherwise. I have discovered that the simple practice of putting the bed in order first thing in the morning sets a pattern of orderliness for the rest of the day. Then at night, walking into the room and crawling into a nice, neat bed has a calming effect that ends the day on that same orderly note.

I realize that there are some suggestions/rules that were kind of forced on me and that I have obeyed out of blind obedience because someone else told me I should, and I just kept the rule not really appreciating or understanding the value. Hey I'm pretty good at keeping rules, even dumb ones. In this case it wasn't until I ignored the suggestion for a time and then started to relive it that I discovered for myself how really beneficial the rule was and not just because obeying what I was told to do is important, but because the rule had a greater purpose. Okay, so today I made the bed and life's wrinkles seemed a little smoother all day long. Just not on my face.

Holistic Cleansing

For those that don't know, holistic means that the whole person is considered for healing or any improvement rather than just one part. For me to perform at my best I know that I can't just cleanse or improve one area but I have to be mindful of the whole package. I have noticed that I can continually cleanse my home by dejunking, but if I haven't cleansed other parts of me then my home just gets junkie again. For example, if I haven't adequately cleansed my spirit by repenting or forgiving then there is a negative emotion that will drive an increased need to accumulate "stuff" as a way to falsely try to compensate for something negative.

So my continued quest is to cleanse all parts of me. In the spiritual realm, to ask for forgiveness; in my physical world, to cleanse my body and my home of junk; mentally and emotionally, to give up negative thoughts and emotions that will eventually sabotage health and peace; and socially, to get rid of any bad feelings towards someone.

In cleansing and getting rid of the bad stuff, I make more room for the good but I need to remember that the good isn't always "stuff," but really just a joyful feeling that doesn't have to be dusted and that is good news because I hate to dust.