Keeping House

In the spirit of spring-cleaning, both physical and mental/emotional, for Lent, I downloaded a book called “Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit” by Paula Huston.  This book recommends one small, measurable task to complete each day as a way of practicing the simplicity and humility that characterize the Lenten season.  Huston is an oblate, or lay associate of a monastic community, so the book is filled with references to Catholicism.  This doesn’t necessarily scare me away, but I do notice myself wanting to question the rationale behind the guidance being offered.   Plus, it’s only a few days into Lent and I’ve already encountered at least one task that has completely stopped me in my tracks. 

To give you an idea of the tasks being recommended in this book, on Day 1 the assignment is to clean out a junk drawer or closet.   The rationale behind this project has to do with breaking our strong emotional ties to material things, especially those things we that we are meant to leave behind, the things we have trouble letting go of – often things associated with our past.  

The task for Day 2 is the one that has me stymied.  It’s one of the tasks that I have found myself wanting to question, but also one that I find deeply moving and relevant for me personally.  Simply put, the instruction for Day 2 is to “scrub a dirty corner.”  On the surface, this seems straightforward enough.   The goal of my Lenten practice is a sort of spring-cleaning, after all, so scrubbing a dirty corner makes sense.  But the rationale offered for this task is much deeper than that.  According to the author, the purpose of scrubbing a dirty corner is to bring attention to those areas of our lives where we attempt to maintain an outward appearance of order while neglecting the hidden “grime” that lies underneath.  

  

Whoa.

“The act of physically scrubbing out a dirty corner,” says Huston, “especially one that is hidden, can be a reminder to us of our preference for life on the shining surface.  And the humility required to get down in the muck this way, taking on an onerous job the results of which few will ever notice, helps point us in a new direction, toward life in the light of Spirit.” 

  

I’m giving a lot of thought to this task.  On the one hand, I’m wondering if it’s really necessary to put energy into cleaning a surface that is hidden from view.  I think this might be a Catholic mind-trick of some sort.  On the other hand, I can think of a hundred little “dirty corners” in my home that I’ve been allowing to fester because, after all, nobody will ever see them – and, like the author, I’m wondering how this interest in keeping up appearances translates to other areas of my life. 

I hope, ultimately, that I can find the courage and the focus and the tenacity to face and tackle even the ugly chores of life.  And I hope that I can eventually move beyond my need to keep up appearances.  I’m not convinced that scrubbing the dirty corners of my physical home is necessary, but I do believe that this simple practice may help me to bring some awareness to the motivation behind my actions and  discover a new level of strength within myself.

~REBECCA