Spring Cleaning (#sol18 Day 8/31)

The knowledge that I’ve gained today is this: The sunny days illuminate the smudges.

I’ve witnessed this little gem of a saying (is it actually a saying? Not sure. I’m saying it, so yup, it’s a saying) in three different areas of my life today. I’m usually not at all the Spring Cleaning type of gal, so it struck me that today turned out the way that it did.

1. At home. Even before opening my eyes, I actually had to kick off my extra comforter this morning. This is a really big deal. The air coming through our drafty windows was warm and it had a definite Spring-type feel to it. I could feel that there was actually light coming in the windows, and I could hear birds flitting about in the trees outside. I opened my eyes and guess what else was flitting about? Dust. Like, a lot of dust. Thanks, sunshine, for illuminating those tiny specks. There was some cleaning at my house before I went to school this morning.
2. At school. My teaching partner has just returned after being gone for two weeks. Things went smoothly, no big deal, everything was totally fine, but I have to say – it feels really nice to have my partner in crime back. Just knowing that someone else is on my side to help carry the load allows me to take that pause I’ve been pushing aside for all of these days, take a breath, and look at my reality from a slightly broader perspective. The pressure and urgency drops away. Things begin to come into focus. Those piles that have been on my desk (ya know… just for example…) become more noticeable, but not in an oh-my-god-I-can’t-believe-you-haven’t-dealt-with-that-yet kind of way. More in a oh-I-think-I’ll-go-through-those-papers-today sort of way. That’s quite a difference! The gift of being given the time and space to just stop and look around with a discerning eye was much welcomed today. My desk looks much more organized than it did this morning. (You’ll have to trust me because I have no photographic evidence of this transformation.)
3. At the yoga studio. As the sunlight grows longer, the rays of sun have finally returned through the studio windows at the beginning of my 5:30pm class. They add a little levity to the space, and they let the mirrors reflect their promises of longer days. And… they absolutely illuminate the literal smudges. I got some good mirror-cleaning in before teaching tonight!

While my day was punctuated by more cleaning episodes than usual, there has been this overall feeling of forgiving calmness throughout it all. My “smudges” have been illuminated, but I didn’t take any of them personally. I didn’t feel guilty about having to fix up these smudges. I just saw them as they were… and I cleaned them up! No harm, no foul. That’s not usually how cleaning transpires in my world. What a gift to be able to get such results without any preceding pressure or guilt. I hope this illumination lasts a bit longer.