Spring Cleaning For the Soul

 Today, I am sharing my annual "Spiritual Spring Cleaning " post. As we focus on clearing out "stuff" from our homes (as Tom and I have been doing this past week), may we do the same for our spirits.

 I am writing this on an early Spring morning…gray and chilly still, but with the scent of new life in the air. I throw open the window and listen to the birds at my feeder, excitedly announcing this time of rebirth. My thoughts turn towards spring cleaning, rebirth and renewal and how these can serve as metaphors for our own spiritual growth.

I really don't enjoy cleaning at all, but my mother-n-law, Joan, who passed on several years ago, left behind a legacy of ritualistic spring cleaning. Each year, come March or early April, Joan would empty and wash every cupboard and closet, scrub every wall and window and launder every curtain and rug. Top to bottom, everything received a thorough airing, cleaning and reorganizing.  No matter how chilly it was, she would throw open the windows, disinfecting with sunlight and fresh air every nook and cranny of her beautiful home.

When she reached the age of eighty, still in her own home, still doing her spring cleaning, she said to me "You know, Patti, I just don't enjoy it like I used to", which of course made me chuckle. Although I couldn't relate to ever enjoying cleaning, I did admire her spunk and energy.

So, as we enter into this season of Spring, I think of Joan with love and admiration and try to apply her spring cleaning lessons to spirituality, which resonates a bit more with me than actual physical cleaning (important as well, of course!):

• Emptying:  Releasing old hurts, resentments, anger, sadness, anxiety, fear of the future, regrets of the past.  This morning, I step outside, face the sun, breathe deeply and let it all go. like laundry flapping in the breeze.
  
• Washing:  On my in-breath, I visualize the pure white light of the Spirit coursing through my body from the top of my head, out through my feet, clearing any debris, washing me clean.
• Scrubbing: Washing alone can't always do the job.  There are always stubborn stains, crevices, hidden grime, etc. that need a little scrubbing with a stiff brush. What old habits and patterns are hard to break, but no longer serve me?  What accumulated junk in my home or heart needs to be thrown out and replaced with new, fresh, beautiful things?
• Laundering:  Water is a metaphor for the Spirit. Ask for help and be given the cleansing, renewing refreshment of the Spirit. This water is restorative; showered freely on all who ask.
• Airing: Breath is another metaphor for Spirit. As I breathe in, I feel the gentle wind and Light of Spirit, disinfecting any areas in need of inner healing, airing out anything that has previously been hidden and needs to come out into the open. Like wounds that need sunlight and fresh air, my inner emotional wounds can be healed as well.
• Reorganizing: After cleansing, I need to replace old energy with new; negative thought patterns with positive, inspirational messages. Whatever speaks to my heart, whether it's scripture, quotes from inspiring leaders, poetry or song. Embrace the new, let go of the old.  Be encouraged and strong, create new habits, create positive change in my home, my heart and the world.

This is a process, I know, that is not easy. I cling to old ways of thinking and doing things, as most of us do. But I can start with today, letting go of something old, breathing in the cleansing refreshment of God's Spirit, claiming the Light of renewal and taking one small baby step toward something fresh and new! 

“Create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me” Psalm 51:10