(I am going to be making all of the TITLES for the posts related to The Art of Manliness series clickable links, since I think they were formerly being truncated by the width of the blog column. This TITLE should be directly linked to the AOM site page, and shortly, I will be going back to revise older posts, well...)
The Art of Manliness "30 Days to a Better Man" assignment for the lucky 13th day of the program is to 'declutter' our lives. This can mean shredding that junk mail that's been piling up, to donating clothes we haven't worn in nine months, or selling old books that we keep lying around collecting dust when we have no plans of ever picking them up again.
I feel pretty good, as I have been diligently 'decluttering' for the past several months. (For those of you who know me pretty well, you may have heard a story or two about how I was diagnosed with ADD about six months ago. Within days of starting meds for ADD, I went through a major overhaul of my house.) Everyone still teases me about my constant projects for beautifying my house and surrounding gardens. I take their prodding all in good jest, as is it pretty funny, and I feel so relieved with the end product of all of my hard work that I really can't complain about a few jokes here and there.
Listed below are the AOM link and excerpt for Day 13:
http://artofmanliness.com/archives/#2009-06
The simple life is a manly life because a man defines himself not by his possessions but by his character, virtues, relationships, and experiences. These are the things that he invests his time, energy, and emotions in, because these are the things that no natural disaster, no bomb, no prison can ever take away from him. The less stuff we accumulate, the less energy we have to devote to the maintenance of it, and the more energy we can put into becoming better men.Why Declutter
It reduces stress. I definitely think there’s something to the idea that clutter can block the flow of good karma and energy in your life. Whenever I’m in a room filled with crap, I get tense and feel like I’m being buried in stuff. When I clear things out, I feel like a load has been taken off me physically and mentally. I think clearer, I’m more productive, and I have a bit more pep in my step.
Good luck with today's task, if you are participating – it makes a world of difference, and can feel so liberating when you have completed this 'declutterfying.' It's a good undertaking, even if you have no interest in becoming a better man. So, get crackin'!
Clean up on aisle 5!
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