Sunday seems to be one of those new times for me to be creative. I guess this is because Sandi and I don’t attend a regular morning church anymore—thus allowing us time to sit around, drink coffee and process the week, month year, etc. All of sudden, after all those years of 10 o’clock church, we now go at 5 pm. Which is to say this is why I can sit at the computer Sunday morning and allow what needs to come out the freedom to do so.

This morning’s word is “simplify”.

Dictionary.com defines simplify as: to make less complex or complicated; make plainer or easier: “this move will simplify our lives”. The opposite of simplify is complicate.

That’s the skeleton—now I will flesh it out.

What got me here is the fact that we all have a tendancy to accumulate stuff—good stuff—pretty stuff—useful stuff—but stuff nonetheless. The problem with stuff is after it is replaced by other stuff, we have to have a place to keep our old stuff. And the plain fact is that our houses were designed to accomodate only so much stuff—they are not elastic and therefore a limit will be reached where there is too much stuff to fit. A crowded feeling then comes on—a feeling you can’t shake until you get rid of some of the stuff that is peeking out of every available space.

In our house, it is my wife that every so often gets the urge to simplify—it is a good urge, a Godly urge—but one that we are not always on the same page with. The fact is, I have more stuff that her and once she puts her stuff in order, then it is left for me to follow suit and do the same. I have to admit that I have a much harder time with the process than she does.

Point in fact: I am listening to a cassette tape right now that I probably found in an old Big Lots or Roses 15 years ago. I used to always hit the bargain music bins wherever I found myself—looking for musical treasures of some sort. First it was bargin LP’s when tapes became popular—then it was 99 cent bargin tapes when CD’s became the big thing in music delivery. And I found some beauts. As a result, I have hundred’s of cassete tapes of good music that I never listen to anymore.

As I was cleaning up yesterday, I found several that were dusty and perhaps had only been played two or threes times at the most when they were new. And now they are taking up space and I am conflicted as to what to do with them. Many have good memories: Christian artists that never made the big time and so thier stuff never was released on CD. Jazz stuff that only a few collectors would ever appreciate—and lots of wierd stuff that at 59 cents seemed like a realy deal at the time I found them.

And it is not just the tapes that I am dealing with—it’s the old magazines that had good articles or sermon notes that I will probably never read again but that peak my interest when I pull them out of the boxes where they have been stored all these years. I have copies of old e-mails that detailed our journey through many trials and tribulations. I’ve even got the bible on tape in several different translations. And let’s not even get started on the old computer programs and hardware that is slowly being disposed of when I finally come to the realization that what had value 6 months ago, is now dated technolgy that wouldn’t even be welcomed in a third world country anymore.

I am doing better—it just takes time to let it all soak in. I have several piles of “junk” to dispose of and boxes waiting for more as that determination is made. I really don’t want to live in the past: it was a good place to visit along the way but there is more to see up ahead of me. And the ride really is so much easier without all the baggage. E-Bay here I come. How about you?

Enjoy the day.