There is no one who needs to clean and de-clutter more than I. The matter extends not only from room to room but mentally. Ideas take shape in my mind. Lists are made. Resolutions declared. Still my desk and library are stacked with disgraceful piles of papers, news clippings, and books. Perhaps that is the sign of a busy person, but more than likely, in my case, it’s a matter of storing up treasures here on earth, which according to the Bible, I should not do. For instance, I came across a fine article about Afghanistan and the five pillars of Islam. I decided I might need it for an article or a talk so I clipped it and saved it. I came across a recipe for molasses cookies. My mother-in-law used to make the most delicious molasses cookies, so naturally, I clipped the recipe and placed it in my cookbook. I came across a feature about a man who makes wooden hats. How droll. I might need that little detail for a story I might someday write. I clipped it and stacked it by the computer. And on and on it goes. I have folders and notebooks with clippings, articles, recipes, editorials, and features about writers, entertainers, and statesmen, history, geography, and theatre. Where does it stop? Does it ever stop?
I found a lovely short feature about how many artists have drawn inspiration from nature, many working from their gardens. Sir Walter Scott gardened in order to separate his mind from debt. Claude Monet’s kitchen garden was his treasured spot. According to Derek Fell, author of Monet’s Palate Cookbook, “Gardens are really extensions of their art.” George Bernard Shaw wrote plays in a little modest garden shed. The shed was built on a turntable so the playwright could turn it to take advantage of the natural light. Shaw was a vegetarian who tended an orchard, his vegetables, and raised bees. Shaw died at 94, after falling off a ladder while pruning a fruit tree. When my father was in his 90’s, my uncle Bob found him up a pecan tree trimming dead limbs. My Uncle Bob’s words, “Wattie, what in the devil’s name are you doing up a tree?”
Many creative accomplished people loved their gardens and fruit trees. John Ruskin was a hands-on gardener. He wrote, “No words, no thoughts can measure the possible change for good which energetic and tender care of the wild herbs of the fields and trees of the wood might bring to the bodily pleasure and the mental power of man.” Leonard and Virginia Woof lived at Monk’s House, a country retreat, which they transformed into garden rooms, brick walkways, and an orchard. Leonard was an author, editor and theorist. Virginia was the novelist and critic.
So how does one clean and de-clutter? Bit by bit and with frequent forays into the garden to pull weeds, spread a little mulch, and to think.
I found a lovely short feature about how many artists have drawn inspiration from nature, many working from their gardens. Sir Walter Scott gardened in order to separate his mind from debt. Claude Monet’s kitchen garden was his treasured spot. According to Derek Fell, author of Monet’s Palate Cookbook, “Gardens are really extensions of their art.” George Bernard Shaw wrote plays in a little modest garden shed. The shed was built on a turntable so the playwright could turn it to take advantage of the natural light. Shaw was a vegetarian who tended an orchard, his vegetables, and raised bees. Shaw died at 94, after falling off a ladder while pruning a fruit tree. When my father was in his 90’s, my uncle Bob found him up a pecan tree trimming dead limbs. My Uncle Bob’s words, “Wattie, what in the devil’s name are you doing up a tree?”
Many creative accomplished people loved their gardens and fruit trees. John Ruskin was a hands-on gardener. He wrote, “No words, no thoughts can measure the possible change for good which energetic and tender care of the wild herbs of the fields and trees of the wood might bring to the bodily pleasure and the mental power of man.” Leonard and Virginia Woof lived at Monk’s House, a country retreat, which they transformed into garden rooms, brick walkways, and an orchard. Leonard was an author, editor and theorist. Virginia was the novelist and critic.
So how does one clean and de-clutter? Bit by bit and with frequent forays into the garden to pull weeds, spread a little mulch, and to think.
RSS Feed
