Weeks back, I talked on Instagram Stories about how I was feeling sad about missing Chicago. I was reflecting on all that the city gave me – how much has changed in such a short time period – and couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. It was a happy reflection, but also a feeling of sadness, for all that it was and will never be.
One of the things I love about social media – and the digital space in general – is its ability to connect people. I genuinely feel like I am friends with those in this community; there many who I’ve talked with through direct messages in particular, where we’ve had real, meaningful conversations. I often walk away from those instances and think to myself, “Gosh, how incredible is that?!”
Especially because you guys are so wise. I’ll often get feedback or ideas sent from you that I’ve never considered before. Sometimes, people will send advice that really hits home, which is what happened in this particular moment, when I was feeling all sorts of adjustment feelings from the move.
A Lovely Perspective On Change
One of my readers sent a direct message to me that made me stop, reflect, feel content, and smile. Here was her note:
Feelings are good! Moving and change is hard. But moving forward is BEST. KonMari the past. “Thank you for what you taught me, gave me, MADE me…Next.”
A few things really stood out to me with her message. The first was the sweet reassurance that even if a feeling is hard, it’s not necessarily bad. Even the tough ones are good to feel; it’s all a part of life and the process. Especially when dealing with a big adjustment like moving!
But what I loved most about her message was her perspective on thanking the past while simultaneously moving forward from it. “KonMari” the past, as she noted. YES.
What Is KonMari?
For those that aren’t familiar with KonMari, it’s essentially a movement started by professional organizer Marie Kondo that is all about streamlining your things and space, and thus transforming your life. At its core, it encourages people to keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy. Thank them for their service – then let them go. People are drawn to this method for its effectiveness, and for its ability to place importance on being mindful, introspective and forward-looking.
Of course, KonMari is meant to help organize space in a literal way, but that reader comment made me look at life changes through a KonMari lens, too. Which is something that I think is super interesting to do, especially if you’re facing a big change like a job shift, breakup, move, or even just trying to figure out ways to move forward from a situation.
Here are six basic rules of tidying, from the KonMari website. I think it’s interesting to read these through the lens of your space AND through the lens of life.
Interesting to do, right?! Particularly with the notion of asking yourself if something sparks joy. I think this is a powerful way to view one’s relationships, location, job, and other life factors that have huge impacts on our happiness and personal space from both a literal and figurative level.
Similarly, I think the notion of thanking that situation for what they/it gave you and taught you, then moving forward with gratitude, is life changing.
When I really think about this, I see that every single hard situation life has thrown at me has had lessons learned. Even if I couldn’t see them at the time.
More Interesting KonMari Thoughts to Apply To Life
As I was reflecting on this, I was looking at the KonMari Instagram page, which had some great pull quotes worth noting.
- The joy we feel here and now is what’s most important.
- Taking good care of your things leads to taking good care of yourself. Personal Note: Replace “things” in this sentence with “relationships”, and note how that affects your outlook on yourself.
- Don’t compare your performance to that of anyone else. You are the standard. Personal Note: None of us are either ahead or behind in life. We’re exactly where we need to be. We need to define our own standards and live up to those, not to the standards of what other people expect or want of us.
- Choose what you want to keep, not what you want to get rid of. Personal Note: I love this perspective because it places the importance on the positive, and what you want to spend time on and with. Don’t look at what you want to get rid of, but rather who or what you want to spend time on and that sparks joy.
In closing, I think we all have things that we could benefit from letting go of in life.
Whether they’re as tangible as an item, as fluid as a feeling, or as important as a person. Whether it’s in the past or present, looking at these things through the KonMari lens is a really powerful way to help move forward with mindfulness.
I hope that, if there’s something in life that you’re moving forward from, you can look at it with a lens of gratitude. Most of all, I hope you know that where you are at now is exactly where you’re supposed to be. <3
PS – Words Of Wisdom On Love, From My Grandmother. 15 Things That Are Good For The Soul. How To Embrace Living A Hygge Life
