On Actually Cleaning Out the Basement

On Actually Cleaning Out the Basement

My previous blog post, On How Cleaning out the Basement isn’t About the Cleaning–– Or the Basement, was about the what can be learned–– and accepted and respected–– about ourselves from the stuff that fills the basements of our physical and mental lives.

 (A note of apology for my coming overuse of the word “stuff.” I think it appropriate here as the word stands in for all individual items that have become so overwhelming as to lose their meaning, specificity and usefulness and become a generic blob much less than the sum of the parts.)

 Now it is time to leave the world of metaphorical basements and enter into the real world of actual basements, and piles, and collections, and general content and

On how cleaning out the basement isn’t about the cleaning–– or the basement

On how cleaning out the basement isn’t about the cleaning–– or the basement

Metaphor alert: This is a tale of a “house” and the “stuff” inside it that took over our brains. Feel free to read that alert as “This tale may or may not be about a real house and actual physical stuff, because a house happens to be a damn great metaphor for a mind.”

And it’s about gratitude. It’s always about gratitude.

My house was built in 1903. It is a large Victorian family home, “farmhouse” Victorian I believe,

How to Use Maps as Guides, Part 2

How to Use Maps as Guides, Part 2

In Part 1 I talked about going where you are getting using maps as guides, in a very loose, metaphorical-because-I-am-really-talking-about-life manner. In your own way, using your own directions, eventually arriving. Or not…

But, what happens if you find yourself on some map and really don't know where your destination lies? You may have forgotten it, or perhaps you've decided, as you’ve progressed, you no longer wish to go there. What then? How do you decide which direction to head? This is the most important thing

How to use Maps as Guides, Part 1

How to use Maps as Guides, Part 1

Life isn't easy


Love never lasts

You just carry on

And keep moving fast

-Eric Kaz

Well, that sounds depressing. But this post is not about getting where you are going; it is about going where you are getting. In your own way, using your own directions.

Let's look at Google maps. Imagine you know where you are. And for the sake of argument imagine you know where you want to end up. Which may or may not be the case, but for now, let's say you have chosen