Spring cleaning or clearing out was isn't useful or beautiful

This morning I was reading an entry in Sarah Ban Breathnach's devotional, Simple Abundance. She was talking about taking time to look around your home, being grateful for it just as it is, but also asking yourself if your possessions are useful or beautiful. This time of year, when I can open the windows and let in fresh spring air and give everything a good cleaning, I take a good look at just what I have accumulated around me. This usually prompts a deep look in thought as well. What have I accumulated that should really be discarded?

The passage in Simple Abundance turned this to a more spiritual outlook as well. She writes: "There is an ancient metaphysical law that says if we desire more abundance in our lives we must create a vacuum to allow ourselves to receive the good we seek. How can more good come into our lives if there is no room for it"?  A fair question but as a student of Christian Science I can see another way to work with this, from the standpoint of God's ever-present love that is constantly pouring out good and blessings for each of His children.

Part of my daily work for myself is to take the time to pause and look around my 'house'. Mrs. Eddy gives a spiritual interpretation for 'house' as 'spiritual consciousness'. So I strive to start each day with a little bit of mental housecleaning. Have I truly let go of any false thinking from the days or weeks before or am I carrying wrong opinion about myself or others into this new day? We should expect spiritual progress as we study our Bible Lesson, read Science and Health, and appreciate the articles and testimonies in our periodicals. We should expect healing to be occurring at church and at home. We should be on the alert to see and appreciate the good happening all around us. I want the things around me to reflect who I am, what I love, and that is a direct effect of how I am thinking about God and my relationship with Him.

Today I focused on the last section of this week's Bible Lesson. What am I learning? How to turn thought into new and healthy channels. Sounds like a breath of fresh air. How, as God's beloved daughter, I am always beautiful and grand. What fun to think of myself that way. How to see each successive stage of my experience with new views of divine goodness and love. How to feel the joy of all that and go through each day with a smile. I will make it a goal to be sure I am clearing out of thought what is not useful or beautiful. I will be alert to ask myself, 'is this a useful thought, is this a beautiful thought'?

The spring flowers are fading here in Elsah but outside my sliding glass door is a small circular garden of peonies, with big round buds ready to burst out in shades of pink. I anticipate bringing some of those inside for the whole family to enjoy. They are both useful and beautiful. As are the things I am learning as I continue my study of Christian Science.