Spring Cleaning: Creating Room for Joy

Image Courtesy: Strike Magazine Chattanooga

Spring is right around the corner and it's the perfect time for some spring cleaning. While cleaning out the closets and under the bed can be good for the house, clearing the mind with vulnerability and honesty can be good for the soul. Brené Brown, a shame and vulnerability researcher, states in Rising Strong that, “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it's our greatest measure of courage” (Brown, 2015). It is brave to be vulnerable. Being authentic with the people around you is a form of vulnerability and transparency and breaking through the facade that we create around ourselves is crucial for a fulfilled life. 

It can be easy to keep up a wall in between you and the world. While this can bring temporary relief, it is detrimental to keep this wall up your whole life. Who are we truly inside gets overshadowed and overgrown and still with disuse? It is important to be loved for who you are and because of who you are. While discernment needs to be used in how much we share with others, it is necessary to share and talk about feelings and emotions with safe people and friends. This can be freeing. 

Spring can be a fresh start for a lot of things! If you feel like you want to be a better version of yourself, but you don’t know how to start, what better time than right now to grow into it. Spring is a time for just that. For growth, for learning, and for blooming after a period of dryness and hardship. Vulnerability and honesty are important in interpersonal relationships, but you can also turn this practice inward and be honest with yourself. This can take a variety of forms! You can be honest about how you are doing with mental health, honest about what boundaries might need to be set in relationships, and honest about where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Learning to capitalize on strengths and being kind to yourself in weakness is a way to grow into yourself! 

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about what inner growth looks like practically. One way this growing can occur is to deal with all the parts of yourself that you might not like. While this might sound counterintuitive, it is a beautiful thing to be honest about who you are. It is sitting in the uncomfortable feelings that arise and working through them, not around them. When we do this, we make room inside ourselves for joy. If we can let stuff out, we create a bigger capacity to feel other emotions that can be more positive. Talking with a trusted friend or therapist about what’s pressing on your mind is a way to clear out space inside your head. Once you have let whatever it is out, you can feel more of anything. The next step is to fill the space with good things. Some applicable ways to do this would be to go on a walk to see the new flowers, do activities that prompt laughter, or rest in the peace that comes with clearing the mind. As Brené Brown said, it shows true courage to be vulnerable, and there is a definitive payoff when you can live a life free of the facade. I can't believe it, but it's March now, the daffodils are blooming, and the winter is but a whisper. Time for spring cleaning of the heart! 

Strike Out,

Writer: Aubrey Anne Ross

Editor: Jane Dodge

Graphic Designer: CJ Barney

Chattanooga

Read more here