A SORT OF HOUSE CLEANING: OFFICE-MOVING DAY

Getting rid of accumulated paper: purchase orders, book orders, enrollment figures, memos of all kind, student/course evaluations, extra copies of syllabi; exams, articles used in classes, an occasional letter of praise or the complaint of a student dissatisfied with his or her grade.  Moments of frustration, anger, disillusionment, elation, satisfaction, sadness, disappointment, a sense of accomplishment, embarrassment—the gamut of emotions as I sort, pause, put aside or discard decades’ worth of words in print.

When I finish today’s task I feel lighter and willing to let go of the ghosts trapped in mountains of text, multicolored monsters, demons holding on to the trappings of both successes and failures.  I feel stronger, more determined to use this time, this opportunity to discard the past and envision a better future. A future when paper and ink will know their place and not take liberties, not linger when they should not, but simply state their business and move on.

I have overloaded the eyes and consequently the mind and heart with information turned into debris.  The eyes must now rest, turn their attention elsewhere, away from all that provokes too much involvement with what is constantly in flux and towards the inner light that shimmers, that illuminates and makes existence joyful and sweet.  

ZM (Source of image below: Clip Art from Microsoft World)