De-Cluttering for Weight Loss
|
Discovering the Lost Art of "Letting Go"
It happened while I visited a friend of mine in Berlin. During that journey I learned something unexpected, which gave my life quality a real boost. My friend Tatjana is one of those people who can turn a simple, rented flat into an artful, magic sanctuary, which you never want to leave. There was a book on her shelf which (at least partially) explained her secret: Karen Kingston's "Clear Your Clutter With Feng-Shui." Behind the ancient Chinese art of Feng-Shui lies the idea that everything you surround yourself with influences the surrounding energetic matrix. Sensibly placed, beautiful and useful things enhance the energy. Clutter, on the other hand – which is every item in your possession which you neither love nor use – drains the energy and makes you feel sluggish. |
|
I got a copy of the book and finished reading it on my flight back. By the time I got off the plane, I was sheer determination! I stormed into the house with a bundle of large rubbish bags and began to fill them. Suddenly, I saw clutter everywhere. There were all the...
☼ clothes I didn't like wearing any more,
☼ kitchen tools I had too many of,
☼ presents given to me which I never liked,
☼ old jewels I never could make myself wearing,
☼ books I once liked but no longer reflected my current thinking,
☼ CDs I hardly listened to any more,
☼ love letters from broken relationships,
☼ hundreds or even thousands of pages of old notes, even
☼ print-outs.
All these things found their way into charity shops or recycling. With every load of rubbish I got rid of, I felt more relieved. It was not just my house that got more clarity, but my thoughts, feelings and personal energies, as well. Soon, I became a great fan of de-cluttering, and told about it to my friends and clients.
Many of them felt inspired, and did the same. They freed up space not only in their environment, but also in their heads to start something new. They began to gain clarity and those who wanted to... began to lost weight.
The Secret Link between Letting Go of Clutter and Losing Weight
This was surprising, even though Karen mentioned it in her book, as well. There seemed to be a secret, but significant connection between letting go of clutter and letting go of unnecessary body fat. How's that possible – my inquisitive mind began to ask. But as soon as I began to think about it, I realised that this actually makes sense.
For millions of years we have evolved under harsh conditions: food was scarce and we burned a lot of calories fighting with wild animals and storms, ice and cold, hunger and thirst. Therefore, we have inherited a genetic message, which tells us to eat as much as we can and save as much energy as possible. Only in the last few decades food became abundant in the Western world, and work much less physical than it once used to be. Our genes had no time to catch up with the changed circumstances. Often, we still feel the urge to eat as much as we can and save energy by exercising as little as possible.
But the good news is, as human beings we can let go of our genetic programming – by simply changing our thoughts. Neither our genes nor our past determine our future, but our present attitude. In the same way we let go of unnecessary clutter, we can let go of the need to cling to our fats and comforts... because remember:
Nothing tastes as good as being fit feels.
☼ clothes I didn't like wearing any more,
☼ kitchen tools I had too many of,
☼ presents given to me which I never liked,
☼ old jewels I never could make myself wearing,
☼ books I once liked but no longer reflected my current thinking,
☼ CDs I hardly listened to any more,
☼ love letters from broken relationships,
☼ hundreds or even thousands of pages of old notes, even
☼ print-outs.
All these things found their way into charity shops or recycling. With every load of rubbish I got rid of, I felt more relieved. It was not just my house that got more clarity, but my thoughts, feelings and personal energies, as well. Soon, I became a great fan of de-cluttering, and told about it to my friends and clients.
Many of them felt inspired, and did the same. They freed up space not only in their environment, but also in their heads to start something new. They began to gain clarity and those who wanted to... began to lost weight.
The Secret Link between Letting Go of Clutter and Losing Weight
This was surprising, even though Karen mentioned it in her book, as well. There seemed to be a secret, but significant connection between letting go of clutter and letting go of unnecessary body fat. How's that possible – my inquisitive mind began to ask. But as soon as I began to think about it, I realised that this actually makes sense.
For millions of years we have evolved under harsh conditions: food was scarce and we burned a lot of calories fighting with wild animals and storms, ice and cold, hunger and thirst. Therefore, we have inherited a genetic message, which tells us to eat as much as we can and save as much energy as possible. Only in the last few decades food became abundant in the Western world, and work much less physical than it once used to be. Our genes had no time to catch up with the changed circumstances. Often, we still feel the urge to eat as much as we can and save energy by exercising as little as possible.
But the good news is, as human beings we can let go of our genetic programming – by simply changing our thoughts. Neither our genes nor our past determine our future, but our present attitude. In the same way we let go of unnecessary clutter, we can let go of the need to cling to our fats and comforts... because remember:
Nothing tastes as good as being fit feels.