Friday, July 19, 2013

A Sweeping Metaphor



"It may be difficult, but there will be times we need to pick up our brooms and do some spiritual house cleaning. It is through this process that we find our true relationships, our true heart, our core integrity, and our life's purpose."

~Molly Friedenfeld, The Book Of Simple Human Truths: Inspiration, Love And Wisdom

While walking through the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco the other day, I happened upon this little broom, just resting on the concrete. Sometimes I can be right in the middle of a place of bold, vibrant colors and sounds, and while it's all exciting and inspiring to take in all that, sometimes  it's the subtle things that tend to hit me over the head. Sometimes the little, average things that pleases my eye the most.

There is a superstition that says when you move from one home to another, the last thing you should do is sweep the last of the moving dust out your door, and leave the broom behind. Which, of course, is symbolic of sweeping your troubles, your ghosts out of your live, and not taking them to your new home.

That works well for attitudes as well. Preconceived notions. Old boyfriends, Addictions. Fears. Bad neighbors. Almost any "ghost" that haunts you. I have done it many times. Daily I have swept up the dust of everyday life and thrown it in the garbage, but there is something about the final sweeping of the mind, regarding anything that needed letting go of, that has cleansed my life the most. I like brooms very much.

"When someone hands you a broom, get a few buckets of paint. That is how a janitor becomes an impressionist. If the 19th century French style could improve upon nature, it can make your floor look clean."

~Bauvard, The Prince Of Plungers

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

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