As a meditator I just love throwing stuff out! I get much more joy out of organizing disorderly things for some reason.
Most of my life I’d felt stressed for time, and I couldn’t put my creative thoughts on a schedule. If an insight came to mind in the middle of the night or when I was tending another responsibility I’d frantically jot it down on the closest scrap of paper, and those little papers would add up! Similarly, I would group my reference material messily per project rather than per category; this didn’t make it easy for me to find things or use them again later. I know that conscientiousness and organization are attractive qualities, especially to employers, but they just didn’t fit with my fragmented way of being.
Since becoming a meditator I’ve been gravitating more and more towards minimalism. Part of that is because I was living out of a suitcase for 6 months (also a result of vipassana) which forced to me take inventory every time I left a destination; however, once I felt the lightness, I fell in love! If I don’t even recall half of what those clutter clusters are, its pretty obvious I can live without them, in my computer, in my wardrobe, in my notes.
Instead of feeling like I’m wasting time by sorting and minimizing maintenance is actually starting to generate satisfaction! It feels as though I’m shaving off impurities of my external mind. Of course, giving things away is even better than throwing them away, if they happen to be of use to someone!
