And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.  Genesis 1:3

Years and years ago I enrolled in a one-week intensive course called The Pursuit of Excellence; a very 80s thing to do here on the West Coast. I finished that and then took The Wall, a 5-day residential pursuit of even more excellence. And finally it was the follow-up course which I dutifully took as well. I believe it was twice a week for eight weeks?

It matters not. The courses had, and continue to have, a huge influence on how I see the world.

None of what they taught was particularly new or insightful. Any of the concepts can be found in a psychology magazine, course or self-help book. But what they did was help us experience the ideas. This is heady stuff for someone like me who loves to read the book on writing rather than to actually do the writing. Or read about how one should act rather than actually do the hard work of changing my ‘stuff’.

Experiential learning is key for a hands-on gal like myself. Don’t just show or tell me something. Let me learn it by doing it.

One of the concepts was called, Scrub Your Space; that is, if I would clear space in my material and physical world, it would translate into feeling more in control and clearer in my interior world. Hence, if I cleared the clutter and crap and dirt in my external world…voila! my interior world would reflect that light and I would be more able to focus on important thoughts rather then navigating through dusty chaos both inside and out.

It falls in line with that other saying, “Show me your house and I’ll tell you who you are.”

All this to say that Kevin and I have spent the last few days in Sechelt and the place is getting scrubbed, weeded and generally reclaimed after our months away. In fact, as I was wiping down my the old dial phone on my nightstand, it bothered me that it was so dirty.

“Didn’t I just dust this?” said me to myself. Well, in fact, I had ‘just’ dusted it. It was the last time I was in the house in mid-April. Hmmm…..

But when Kevin finished washing the window in the stairwell, we both just stopped and stared. Suddenly the arbutus tree was popping through the gleaming glass. Well who knew?

And look at this. I’m free to have bigger thoughts now that my place feels clean and ordered. Because after each section is done, I lie in the hammock or the chaise lounge or the sofa & I read & I write (!) & I meditate & I visit friends. All while the waves wash the rocks o’er and o’er.  Smart waves!

Oh yeh, baby. I think I’ll go weed some more in the garden. Who knows what lofty inspiration may come about as a result?