The Broken Coffee Cup

In my quest for constant growth and self-awareness, I was reading a book by Martha Beck, a Life Coach. She talked about clutter in your home, just beneath the surface where know one sees and how that is a manifestation of your own internal self.

I thought to myself, I am good, my house is always clean, and I let it go. A few days later, I got home from the grocery store and as I opened the back to get the groceries, I noticed how messy my car was, and then I saw the broken coffee cup. I set that cup outside 2 weeks prior, I told my self I was too busy to put in the house. Now the cup was broken and had been left there, I had kicked it out of the way a few times, my husband had kicked the pieces out of the way, each of us looked at it everyday both irritated with the other for not picking it up, I think I even blamed my 17 year old son, now that’s funny, like he would pick it up. In that moment when I was getting the bags from my car, Martha’s words came back to me, in an instant, I flashed to every drawer and closet through out my 4000 sq. foot house and saw that NO where was uncluttered, from socks to bras to junk drawer laundry rooms make up drawers you name it and it was a mess. I knew I was a mess just beneath the surface, I looked put together, my house looked put together, but in truth, I wasn’t paying attention to my thoughts, or the details of my life.

I always feel like I am rushing, from here to there for know real reason, to busy to pay attention to the details of my life, or at least that’s the lie I was perpetuating every day. Since that instant awareness, I have cleaned out, organized, donated, thrown out, bags and bags of my crap. I got my kids and husband involved, shed some light on my new awareness and we all cleaned up our home. They also realized all the areas of their life that were a mess, and how important it is to pay attention to our thoughts and the details of our lives. My husband and I could see the BIGGER financial mess we created in our lives because of this same thing, this same thinking – to busy to pay attention to the details of all areas of our life.

Thank you broken coffee cup!

 

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About the Author | Carol Smith

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1 comment to "The Broken Coffee Cup"

  • Deborah Quilter

    Dear Carol,

    I found your lovely photo while looking for free images for my YouTube channel, search DeborahQuilter to find it) and wanted to use it on a thumbnail about why people drop things. Will you grant permission for me to use it? I will credit you.

    Thanks so much for considering.

    Best,
    Deborah Quilter