A few years ago, I read “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo.
If you’re not familiar, the basic premise is that you go through every area of your home and workspace, and get rid of anything that doesn’t “spark joy”. (This is known as the “Konmari method”, derived from the name of its creator.)
One of the activities in the book involves taking every single item out of your closet, and then holding each item while asking yourself “Does this spark joy?”.
Anything that doesn’t resonate with a strong “YES” is blessed and then sent on its way, through donations, etc.
When I first Konmari’d my closet, I wound up with 12 commercial-grade trash bags packed full of shoes, clothing, and accessories to donate. Lining the walls of my closet was a small selection of the remaining articles that “sparked joy” – things I found beautiful and actually enjoyed wearing.
I was reflecting on this again this morning, in part, because I’m feeling a bit disorderly in my physical space, and thinking it might be time to Konmari again.
I was also thinking how wonderful it would be to regularly “Konmari” not just our physical spaces, but our minds as well.
Imagine for a moment taking out every thought that passes through your mind, examining it briefly, and asking the simple question “Does this spark joy?”
And then taking every thought that doesn’t spark joy – anything that resonates with fear or shame or self-criticism or obligation – and blessing it, and sending it on its way.
Imagine how much different you would feel, how much lighter and freer, with a mind that’s only occupied by thoughts that spark joy.