Chapter 7.
Inner clutter creates outer clutter.
As should be abundantly clear by now,
Outer clutter is caused by inner clutter.
Let's look at this phenomenon more closely.
Inner clutter consists of unconscious emotions,
The ones you purposely ignored and then forgot,
Something that was overwhelming to you in some way.
But when you ignore something,
It becomes bigger because it feeds off your attention.
Purposely not thinking about something holds your attention.
When you ignore something,
You're actually still thinking about it.
You just happen to be thinking that you should not be thinking of the issue.
Doing this requires an amazing amount of attention and energy.
Imagine a buoy floating on the surface of the sea.
To purposely keep it below the surface,
You have to apply force,
Pushing it down.
And you have to continue applying force to keep it submerged.
In the same way,
If you're repressing something emotionally,
You have to keep it submerged just below your conscious awareness.
This requires the constant pressure of distraction.
Distraction often takes the shape of items you bring into your life that you would normally never acquire,
But that you got because they temporarily distracted you from your feelings.
The problem with a distraction is that it works for only so long.
You get used to the thing.
It no longer shines.
So you have to get another thing.
Then you have to get another thing.
These can be things you bought in a store or got from a friend or found.
They can be people who in their own way are distracting.
It can be a project you unconsciously started doing because of its distracting abilities.
This is the definition of clutter.
Things that exist in your outer life to distract you from the inner things you're avoiding.
If you avoid something,
It grows.
Something small can end up becoming the size of Montana.
The great thing is the reverse also holds true.
When you honestly look at something,
It shrinks.
When you see the situation for what it is,
Bypassing the emotional layers that colored it and made it into a clutter monster,
It becomes simple.
That's how peaceful clutter-busting is.
You're honestly looking at each layer of distraction,
Questioning the thing,
Letting it go,
And realizing what's underneath.
Looking directly at something has the power of a magnifying glass and the sun.
The sun is you,
The glass your attention.
