I spend a lot of time on this site talking about cleaning and de-cluttering; two things I firmly believe in.  But a couple of things happened this week that brought to light an important life lesson and that’s what I want to share with you today.

Earlier this week I drove to a local farmer’s produce stand.  This family has a beautiful garden with fresh corn, tomatoes, carrots, onions, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.  I was actually able to give up my vegetable garden this year because their produce is so wonderful and very dependable.

Not wanting to use their plastic bags, I took my own regular shopping bags that I’ve been using since going paperless.  (I’m also trying to reduce my use of plastic, as well as just overall what I put into landfills – but that’s another post.)

When I told the woman to just start putting what I was picking out into my bag, she exclaimed, “Oh, don’t get that bag dirty – it’s so pretty and clean!”

I tried to explain that I bought it to be used, that I always take it to the grocery store, and that it can be washed if necessary, but nothing was going to stop her – I came home with 5 plastic bags!  She just could not stand the thought of getting that beautiful bag dirty. 

Earlier today, I had to fire someone.  He just wasn’t working out and in the exit interview we discussed how we both went into this knowing it might not work out, but we wanted to give it a try.  We tried.  Things didn’t click.  We bailed.  The employee was really good about it.  It’s the only time I’ve ever gotten to the end of a termination and received a hug!  (Yeah – he was that glad to be let go!)

 Both of these experiences have reminded me of a paradigm I’ve held for a long time:  You learn by doing.  You live by getting the bag dirty and enjoying every minute of it.  Children get it – they have the most fun when they’re getting really good and dirty!   We adults need to re-learn that lesson.  Don’t buy something new just to save it for special occasions.  The dust mites don’t deserve it – you do!  Don’t be afraid to try a job you’d like to go after for whatever reason.  Even if things don’t work out you’ll learn some valuable lessons that will propel your life forward.

Sure, you might have some cleaning up to do, in fact, you probably will have a lot of cleaning up to do, but isn’t that what this journey is all about?

So, go ahead – get that bag dirty!

Until next time,

Live Joyfully!

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