Spring cleaning is an urge that shows up for me about the time the dogwoods bloom. Trees that used to be green change their minds and transform into brides. I haven't any idea where the green goes or the white comes from. But that does not diminish my joy.
Neither can I pinpoint the origins of the urge to purge. Perhaps it arrives with the fragrant air through windows no longer beating back the cold.
There are two bags by the door. A modest start, and yet letting their contents fly to new possibilities feels airy. Today I will nab another armload of books, and fabric that
deserve better treatment than they are currently getting.
Momentum has begun.
One of my current prayers is to set aside coveting. The sentiment can take up residence in my thinking, like mold on three day old bread. It makes the blessings that
are mine to enjoy less nourishing.
What surprises me, is how the space left behind when I shoo jealousy out the door invites sweetness. One circumstance, in which I have been known to allow those odious comparisons, fell in my path last week. Yet, having prayed for liberation from envy, I discovered something much nicer. I shared the story of a person I truly care about,
without a whiff of discontent.
Which was as delightful as a blooming dogwood tree.