Housekeeping and FlameKeeping

[Annie Roonie]

Prompt – where do you struggle with Divinity in the home? In the family?

This is the season where life takes a drastic turn from the other 80% of the year for me. The long work days spent in the 80% allow for this time and I am happy and lucky for it. I live alone and my family only comes to visit on day trips about once a month. So all the messes are mine and I am the only one who benefits from the cleaning.



That said I don't mind doing it. I do connect it to the divine and get into a zone when I clean or do other home maintenance/repairs. I find peace in the doing and that motivates me and I don't stress over it.

Organization is easy when it is just for myself and cats. I have things set up for simple maintenance cleaning, so if I were to miss a whole month, it would only take a day to regroup. The struggle with the divine comes more after the place is cleaned. I lapse into a frivolous consumer and want towels that don't have frayed edges or a carpet without spots. I have to find ways to address these desires and be happy that the things I do have are functional.

The ways I get back to myself and more in touch with divine work doubly to stave off petty wants as well as depression. I, like many, fight this ongoing battle. I've been given prescriptions but unless it is dangerous (usually only in winter and not every winter) I don't medicate. Instead, I keep doing things.

I ride 20 miles a day if I don't have a step in a project that takes the wind out of me, and at night I write or paint or make jewelry or anything that allows me to get into the zone of doing (like housework but pure creation). I know being able to do this is the luxury of living alone and not having children. I have come to an understanding about my chemistry and it is that I require hard work physical as well as mental for balance. The mental is easy to come by; the physical I have to plan, but it works for me. I feel very connected when I balance in this way during this time of year.

[Shawnee]

Prompt – where do you struggle with Divinity in the home? In the family?

I'm one of the crazies who love organizing and cleaning. I don't obsess over it but I do straighten up all the rooms daily. If my house is messy I feel stressed. So by cleaning the house I'm actually clearing my mind and making room for positive feelings

For me keeping a clean house is also a way of caring for my family. The time I take to clean, organize, and decorate is a reflection of the love I feel them. Plus it is a way of showing gratitude for the roof over my head and the other comforts of home.