Day 17 - I have no words today

Crap cleared: A pile of crap from the garage

After a couple of attempts to sit and write today, it just didn't feel right for me. I had a fantastic day, and even wrote a page of text about my interaction with others, but I'm just lacking a bit of the.... zing that I've had these last couple of weeks that enabled me to share the details.

I really don't think that my enthusiasm for this challenge is waning - I'm still loving it. I'm just going to be honest and say that it is difficult to try and write every day. I'm only writing for myself... but I still want it to be an interesting read. I seriously thought about just skipping a day - I never said that the 100 days had to be consecutive! But I did clear some crap, so at least I can post a picture of it.

Ok?

Crap removed when I tidied up part of the garage.

I've really got to get my mojo back..... more sleep will definitely help.

Day 16 - On the road to developing a formal process to Clear the CRAP

　
Crap cleared: Crap that’s now inside my vacuum cleaner!

It’s 11pm and I’ve only just seriously started my daily scribble on the 100 day challenge.

I’m tired, it’s late, and I’ve had a couple of drinks with friends who came over for dinner.

I have had a fantastic day. I’ve been really busy and productive. The only physical crap that I cleared would have been the vacuuming job that I did today.

There is a lot of emotional clearing that goes on when you are on a mission to Clear the CRAP, and now, after more than two weeks of this, I’m wondering whether a daily Clearing of Crap is too much. Perhaps, when the process is formalised and promoted to others as a self healing tool, I'll ease up on the duration!

As a way to engage with fans and encourage participation I asked a simple question. When replies came in, I devised an exercise to try to get respondants to clear one item of their crap. I really hope it works and they complete the exercise. I consider it a testing ground for solidifying the Clear the CRAP process.

Here’s a pic of my lovely clean, crap-cleared carpet.



Hey, do you like my leaves with birds wall art? It’s from i believe in this, my home decor, wall art and gifts store.

All I can conclude with today is: 

Eckhart Tolle!! I get it!

To attempt to use words to describe how you sing to my heart would be the a sin.

Can hardly keep my eyes open.....

Good night

 ❤

Day 15 - Do more of what you love.

　
Crap cleared: weeds, backyard junk & plants to share

Aaaaahh - now THIS is what I love -

sitting in my favourite spot in the backyard,

enjoying a cold refreshing beer

after some hard work in the garden,

listening to the birds and

looking up at the still gums,

as the sun goes down.

This is bliss.

　

I was reminded today that gardening is one of my favourite things, so I felt compelled to go outside and work in the yard.

I marvel at the wonder of nature and love nurturing plants in my vegetable garden. I enjoy the feeling of satisfaction that comes after some hard yard work, when I look back on my achievement and how beautiful it looks.

Today I gathered up some bits and pieces that were lying around the yard in various places that did not need to be there. Here’s the pile of garden crap I threw away:

　

　

I also cleared away a heap of crappy weeds from the front and garden beds, which were thoroughly enjoyed by my chookies:

　

　

I cleared some good garden crap as well. These plants will be going to my friend Amanda on Friday. The January 2011 Brisbane flood waters inundated her home to a level just below the ceiling and she lost a lot. Now that the interior of her home has been fixed and her family has moved back in, she has asked for some greenery to restore her destroyed garden. I’m looking forward to delivering this lot of green and catching up with her.

　



　

I feel so at peace right now.

My special spot in the garden

is where I feel truly connected.

Peace and love to all.

♥♥♥

　

　

Day 15 observations:

• Do more of what you love.

　

Day 14 - Don’t tease me - I don’t handle it well.

　

Crap cleared: rubbish from the car

 

I am sorting through so much at the moment that I can’t believe it was only two days ago that I suggested general housework and tidying up does not constitute "crap-clearing". Today, I had a "clearing-the-crap" moment when I was just doing an ordinary every-day cleaning job around the house.

I am still working on the criteria for this 100 day challenge and it may evolve as time moves along and I evolve with this process. Even once identified and documented, any procedure or "crap-clearing" strategy would be subject to change and needs to be flexible in order to meet individual needs.

As I progress with this challenge

I see a great opportunity to assist others,

but it will take time

to effectively describe

and document the process.

To Clear the CRAP means to do so much more than simply de-cluttering your space. All of the de-cluttering websites I’ve visited so far just provide simple tips on how to get more organised and tidy up. They do not get to the source of the emotional issues, beliefs and behaviours that lead a person to become unorganised and messy in the first place. Clearing the Crap is a methodology to bring about life altering transformation within a person.

So stay tuned.

As this challenge unfolds

And the parameters are defined

BIG things are gonna happen.

So, as I was clearing the crap out of my car this afternoon, I kept thinking about a comment a friend made on Facebook earlier in the day.

I can’t handle being teased. Why, because I was teased a lot as a child. It was not right. It was not fair. There was nothing wrong with me back then, so why did they tease me. Why were they mean to me? Why didn’t every body like me? Don’t they know or care how much they hurt me. I just wanted to be accepted for the way that I was.

I had a mini melt down as I thought about this and my memory of school-yard bullying. Then I remembered the Sedona Method that Jacleen Allen used in our first life coaching session two weeks ago. I hadn’t heard of it prior, so I investigated it and wrote down the four questions that are posed when using this method. It was pretty powerful. I was able to allow and welcome the emotions I feel when thinking about being teased, bullied or made fun of. Then I was able to let it go. Following the steps to the Sedona Method quickly dealt with the painful emotion and make it disappear.

Ha ha... not my car! But it could have
got to this if I didn't clear some crap out of it today!

Maybe it was a jeering comment. Maybe it was written as a joke. It was not fun for me. People who have fun mocking others will say that I am too serious and that I need to lighten up. I don’t understand this. Do they want me to be happy when being made fun of? I don’t make fun of others, and I don’t accept others making fun of me. Particularly now as and adult. It hurts me when people tease. Why would someone want to deliberately hurt someone?

I will no longer react like this when someone says or does something nasty to me. I am able to see that when a person expresses unfavourable words or actions towards another, they are really exposing their own insecurities. The trait they are criticising in another, is a trait that they struggle with themselves.

　

Day 14 observations:

• Regardless of your intention when writing, some people will always interpret things in their own way.

Day 13 - Listen to your body - Are aches and pains telling us more than, ‘hey, you’ve pulled a muscle’?

　

Crap cleared: general household goods to be sold at market

　

As I packed all of my CRAP into the van I wondered if I could really be bothered taking it to the market. Surely it didn’t have such a great monetary value to warrant the huge effort of packing, setting up tent and tables, subjecting the kids to a 5am start and 7 hours of boredom, packing it up again. And the weather forecast was for rain... If only I had the strength to just take it all to the tip and dump it! But I did go to the market and was glad I did - it was fun.



Crap from my garage - ready to go to the market.



I’ve done some marketeer work before so the process is not new to me and I really enjoyed setting up because of the happy banter I had going on with the surrounding stall-holders. Many found my frivolity contagious. I think that having someone new join the regulars at the market can be like a breath of fresh air for them (or a pain in the neck) - like when a new employee joins your team at work. Those that didn’t like my crazy carry-on - which focused on using the word "CRAP" to describe the goods I was selling - well, I guess they’re the ones that just kept to themselves!

I honestly cannot believe the amount of crap I keep. I had a clear-out and held a garage sale six months ago, way before the Clear the CRAP Challenge began. This picture shows the extent of my crap that covered the entire driveway. The garage sale was not very successful, but instead of taking all the unsold goods to a charity drop-off centre or the tip, I promptly packed it all up into boxes. Now is the time to finally rid my space of those boxes of Crap.

My garage sale - August 2010

I have always had the tendency to see the good in people and wondered at times if I was actually a very good judge of character. I had a close friend and work colleague once who was very good at reading people’s features and traits. We worked together on recruitment projects, a perfect role for someone with her skill. On occasions she would mention that she had a bad feeling about someone that we both knew in some capacity. I would not have noticed this underlying negative aspect about the person, and see them only in a positive light. Given time, these people often began to show their true colours. My friend was right about them.

Maybe, knowing what I do now during my current awakening, the "good" that I have always seen in people, is their truth. I have always been able to see the internal light that connects us all, but just did not recognise what it was at the time. I’m confused now as to whether I should become guarded when meeting new people, to protect myself from potential danger, or to remain open and honest in the belief that we all have the capacity for such freedom and peace.

My neighbour at the market seemed to be a very nice man. He was a regular there and we made polite conversation. Throughout the day we chatted briefly between customers, about the market, the weather, the child car seat he was trying to manipulate to see if he wanted to buy it, among other things.

The wind was gusty and toward the end of the market we were all holding onto and tying down our tents to ensure they didn’t blow over. When my neighbour started packing up his tent, I went to lend a helping hand. I held onto the tent pole and grabbed a rope. I don’t know how, but I suddenly got a stabbing pain in my neck. Perhaps I pulled a muscle reaching for the rope or moved in a strange way. Oh, it was awful. I kept moving my head and shoulder this way and that, to try and shake the pain away. Something had cramped up in my neck.

Did I simply pull a muscle, or was there more to this?

At practically the same time as I went to assist with the tent, another man did the same, so I left it to the two men to do, while I continued stretching my neck muscle.

The thought that came to me at that very moment was that my neighbour marketeer was not to be trusted. He seemed nice, but beneath the surface there was something not right. I sat with this notion for a moment and considered my increasing awareness of the energy centres of the body. Did my throat chakra identify that I could not trust what this man was saying? Did I pick up on a negative vibration by touching the tent?

I have magnified a small moment in a big day, but it obviously resonated as something other than small with me. It enabled me to reassess the perceptions I have of people and the need to listen to my body, which has a way, via energy sources and physicality, of communicating important messages to me.

Upon concluding that I need to be wary of this man, that appearances are not always what they seem to be, the pain in my neck left me.

　

By the end of the market I had turned a pile of CRAP into $170.00! All reports were that it was a very slow day with not the usual number of stall-holders and market goers there. I probably sold a third of my crap, if that. I’m very pleased to report that I travelled home via the tip and threw away a couple of large items. (But yes, I did bring a few boxed back home again!! I figure, I have the space, I enjoy going to the market, and if I can earn a little extra lunch money... why not!)

Here's me at the market selling my Crap

After a shower and tidy up, I took the children out to lunch to their favourite child friendly restaurant. We had a fantastic meal, they played on the equipment, I had opportunity to read quietly and while my son played computer games my daughter and I coloured in with felt tip pens. A fun, relaxing afternoon.

　

Day 13 observations:

• Take care of your physical form. It is the vessel that holds our truth. Listen to your body and trust the messages you receive.