eclipse

I was thrilled to catch last week's total lunar eclipse. It rained all day and I worried that we wouldn't be able to see it, but the rain stopped at dusk and by the time the earth's shadow took its first bite, the clouds parted and we had a perfect view. And what a luxury, for it to occur in the evening! I can't tell you how often I drag my butt out of bed and stagger out into the yard in the wee hours, trying to catch a glimpse of something like this. Good show, celestial bodies!

This photo (or one very much like it) was on the front page of the Times the next day. The building at the bottom is Griffith Observatory. I wish it had occurred to me that they would be having a "star party" to watch the eclipse! D'oh!

A star party (usually one Saturday evening per month) is when a bunch of amateur and not-so-amateur astronomers gather on the lawn of the Observatory and set up their own telescopes. Yes, it is an informal astro-geek convention! Star gazers can wander from nerd to nerd, to look through their telescopes and ask questions. It's a lot of fun.

But back to the eclipse. I like to think of eclipses as opportunities to start fresh, you know, sort of wipe away whatever patterns may be bugging me and ease into new, hopefully better habits. Right now my biggest problem can be summed up in one word: clutter. Clutter in my environment, clutter in my mind and clutter in my body. So as I sat there watching the eclipse progress, I thought about why I let these things collect and stagnate, because I can do a million 15-minute decluttering drills like all the self-help books recommend, but the clutter will just keep on coming until I understand what it is saying and why I do it. I'll share some thoughts on this, and (I hope!) some decluttering progress, another day.

Comments

[Sloane Solanto]

I cleaned and organized my craft studio right after the eclipse. I also had the realization that I have lost balance...I have the tendency to become obsessive on things and really slack off everywhere else. A friend pointed out that issues in daily life are definatly effected by the eclipse...so I am focusing on Balance...good luck with taming the Clutter!

[Juanita]

I hear you on the clutter. I have been battling it forever! I have made progress, and am living clutter free in several areas, but not all, yet. I, too, have read many books , but I found 'The Spirit of Getting Organized' by Pamela Kristan to be wonderful. You might want to check it out.
Good luck, and don't beat yourself up too much.