Abundance Thinking vs. Fear of Nothing

Louise Hay’s new post “Clearing Your Clutter” is a nice summary of the major issues people face in addressing clutter: it’s easier to add than to take away; the energetic basis of clutter; the influence of thinking from the Great Depression (which affects all of us, whether we realize it or not).

Hay explains the issues surrounding clutter, but doesn’t offer an answer for it, beyond paying attention and remember to feel a sense of prosperity. It is a difficult answer because, if you’re like most people, spending time around clutter is enough to take away all your feelings of prosperity. How can you feel the wealth of the universe when you are stuck in the debris of your life?

This is why I suggest to people to address clutter only a few minutes at a time at first. You can get a few things taken care of before the focus on clutter drains away your feeling of abundance. But there is more to it than this.

Just recognizing that clutter can be one of the main reasons you feel a sense of scarcity is an important distinction. Being around clutter drains your energy and makes you feel like you cannot do much and do not have much to offer, all the more so if it is your own clutter. If you want to have energy and live a successful life, much of the clutter has to go. Understanding that the main challenge you are facing is not your internal contradictions, but your surroundings, can help you stay focused on the solution. It can shift your focus from the question, “Why do I have so much trouble making decisions?” which is a wretched question for anyone to be facing, to “What can I do with the energy I have today to make a difference in my surroundings?” a much more empowering question.

Eventually, you come to understand the tricks in your mind that surround the fear of nothing, which is the fear of scarcity, irrelevance, abandonment, and all related energies — and includes the fear of empty closet space. You can then move from managing your possessions out of this fear by managing them out of a sense of abundance and empowerment. But you must not wait until the fear is gone and you feel empowered to get started. The fear is contained in the clutter. You have to remove the clutter to remove the fear. The persistent inaction you offer in the face of clutter (along with other tasks and challenges) is the reason you feel disempowered. Start to take action and you will start to be — and feel — more powerful.