Brightening Up Our Surroundings « The Zenplicity Coach

Brightening Up Our Surroundings

06Aug07

This past weekend, my boyfriend and I visited a very small town in Ohio that doesn’t have very much going on. We were visiting his mother in the town where he grew up. Even with sunny skies for the first couple of days, it was still depressing … the town is old and homes and buildings seem uneven as they slowly deteriorate from the inside-out. It’s very sad, and it makes me very grateful for what I do have.

A funny thing though … I remembered something about “stuff”. When someone doesn’t have the means to buy something new “just because”, they have a tendency to hold on to EVERYTHING. My boyfriend’s mother has a tiny upper flat, maybe 600 square feet, that she shares with her other son, who is 18 years old (who’s in that very angry stage of life!) When I walked into her abode, I noticed pictures, ranging from very old to very new, scattered haphazard all around the living room … on walls, on tables, on shelves. I also noticed buttons from when her 18-year old was in midget football (the kind with the picture in them that you pin on your shirt … the kind that screams “proud mother!”), and she had all of them lined up on her mantle. And the lamps, oh the lamps…there were so many of them, but none of them matched, and they were never used! She always used the bright, artificial overhead lights and never touched the lamps. I didn’t have the heart to ask her why. This woman takes pride in her belongings, but I noticed how difficult it must be to dust all of that stuff! The poor thing has to individually lift and dust under so many things that it must be absolutely dreadful everytime she pulls out the cleaning supplies. But, I can tell that she took comfort in all these things.

With one son grown and successful and another one craving freedom, she is left with a tiny 600 foot space of her own. So, she surrounds herself with as much stuff as possible to fill the void that aches deep within. My boyfriend saw an opportunity, though, and we decided to go to Target and get her some well-needed items. We were going to surprise her with some “fresh” things to brighten up the place. We got her some fresh white towels, new cream-colored sheets and down comforter, TV trays so she wouldn’t have to eat supper on her lap when she wanted to watch TV during dinner, new silverware, a new white (and bright!) shower curtain and some new lamps so that she’d WANT to use them to brighten up her dim bathroom and living room.

She was thrilled! And, all of a sudden, she was ready to start throwing some things away — it was amazing.

Although she will probably continue holding on to mementos and pictures that have far outgrown their use as display items, she learned, if even for a brief moment, that it’s ok to let go of things. Out went the old curtain-like floral shower covering and old towels. Funny how we bought her 5 towels and she threw out about 15 old ones. She got the “bug” for a moment, and it was so fun to watch!