Burn, baby burn!

Sometimes attaining inner peace involves environmental cleansing. I'm not speaking of the environment as a whole, just my own corner of it. OK, maybe there's a greener way to purge my personal space of ancient paperwork. Still, ceremonial burning is highly satisfying, isn't it?

I have a lot of paperwork to purge. I don't own a shredder. I can't afford to pay someone to shred all these old documents I pulled from my file cabinet.

So, I say, burn, baby burn!

It's been interesting cleaning out ten years worth of files. The clutter in there was clogging up my to do list as well. And when my list gets too long, it blocks me from attaining peace. Plus, I just don't need the stuff. Well, most of it.

I did find a few gems in the files. A lot of my old journals and handwritten notes. Some poetry that I forgot that I wrote. And I found one really cool thing.

It was a Christmas gift from my Mom, sent to me long ago. A booklet of her writings. It's mostly poetry to loved ones. I remember reading it when I first received it and loving how it revealed her innermost feelings.

When I was growing up, kids weren't really privy to the feelings of their parents. Oh, sure, there was love and lots of it. Still, our parents didn't really confide in us. Or at least not in me or in as much depth as in poetic ramblings.

Anyway, it was fun to read, for instance, poems my Mom wrote to my Dad. (She referred to him as Herbie.) How very in love she was with him! It also gave me a window to their life before kids. Shocker! They had lives before us!

Needless to say, I won't be burning my Mom's poetry or any of the other sentimental stuff in the file drawer.

But as for the weight of unnecessary paperwork, up in smoke it goes. I offer it to the Gods of cleansing and purification. In doing so, my mind becomes clear and peaceful. “To do” becomes “to done.” The ashes settle gently on the peace path behind me.

And forward I trudge with renewed conviction, at peace with the ashes of my past floating across the back yard.