Spring Cleaning for Body, Mind and Spirit

Guest post by Cheryl Nordyke and Kim Wierman

Spring is almost upon us. It is the time of year when we focus on new life as the world comes awake again from the winter dormancy. It is also the time that everyone is thinking about doing that dreaded Spring cleaning. For me personally, I love Spring cleaning because I am one those people that loves to purge. If I don’t need it why do I have it?

I think when most us think about Spring cleaning, our minds automatically go to the garage or storage shed. We think about opening windows wide as we polish the glass and hose down the screens. We think of airing out carpets and laundering the drapes, all of this in an effort to remove the dust and refresh the room.

Perhaps we should think about Spring cleaning ourselves. It may be that we need to freshen up our relationships, thoughts, or attitudes. Maybe there are regrets or feelings of anger that need to be hauled away. It may be that we have not wanted to face a bad financial situation. Regardless of our reason for storing things away the same is true; just because it’s tucked away in the back doesn’t mean it’s not still there.

If we approach Spring as the time of rebirth that it is for the world we can go through the attics and basements of our minds and hearts and see what has been stored there in the back corners that may need to be dusted off and dealt with. What kind of clutter have we been carrying around that just doesn’t need to be there?

One thing I love the most about the Spring cleaning process is that I find stuff I forgot I had. It gives me new ideas and items with which I can decorate and fresh up a room. Some of it may be old and forgotten but it is no less valuable or useful. After all, they say that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The same holds true with our feelings. Sometimes something we felt before has changed. We’ve grown and changed, or maybe the other person or a situation has changed since we stored those feelings away.

Bringing the problems or fears we have stored away into the light allows us a new sense of empowerment. Once they are brought into the light they are almost never as bad as the fear or anticipation of what they mean. Once brought out of darkness we may realize our fear of them was much greater than the reality of facing them. Even if the fear holds true, you are not helpless in doing something to conquer them. It may be mediation or yoga to bring peace to your mind or taking some other kind of proactive step toward refreshing yourself.

The process of doing this is much like Spring cleaning. You will feel like the freshly cleaned room: brighter, cleaner, renewed and refreshed. You will no longer have the dread of having to take care of it. You will soon wonder why you didn’t do this sooner.

Now we are ready to face the next season with a fresh attitude and a much lighter spirit.

Cheryl Nordyke and Kim Wierman are the founders of Waves of Gratitude - a company that exists because of their belief that when life presents you with professional and personal difficulties, a strong foundation of gratitude can help turn those difficulties into opportunities. The owner’s resolve to build a future based on a foundation of gratitude is unwavering. The pair created an online store to give everyone the opportunity to “wear” powerful symbols of gratitude, jewelry and apparel made to personalize the concepts of hope, love, legacy, creativity, optimism, inspiration, confidence and awakening that make everyone beautiful inside and out.