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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Cleaner Closet = Cleaner Soul

In the Tree House: Cleaner Closet = Cleaner Soul

By: Samantha S. Daviss


This last week was crazy busy for me. Our entire office moved into our beautiful brand new office building. We are all so excited for the fresh smell of a new coat of paint, bigger office space, newer amenities; and just an all around new clean work environment.
I don’t know about you, but every spring I try to do a nice general “spring cleaning”. My rule is if I haven’t worn it, looked at it, or used it in the past year…then it’s time to say “adios amigo”.  My girlfriend and I always have a huge annual garage sale in March or April every year (sometimes if we have collected enough stuff, we will have one semi-annually as well). It just feels so good sometimes to cleanse and get of clothes that are worn out, you are tired of seeing or wearing, or just don’t fit right any more.
But I digress, during this move to our new office I took it as a cleansing and organizing opportunity. I wiped every single picture frame down with a Clorox wipe, and I filed every loose piece of paper either in the appropriate file folder or hole punched it and slapped it in its coordinating notebook. It took me three full days of working through lunch to finally reach and obtain this accomplishment, but after the exhaustion wore off I felt fantastic both inside and out.
In addition to my cleaning and organizing spree, I got a little creative with my color palette selection in my office. The colors are based on a beautiful Tuscan sunflower painting that I found, so my walls are a wonderfully cheery and bright Tuscan turquoise and rich mustard-yellow ceiling as an accent. I know it may sound grotesque in your mind, but every time I walk in my new office, I just smile. It makes me feel happy, cheery and bright.
I figure if I have to be stuck in a room for eight or so hours a day, behind my computer, filling out paperwork and away from my kids, so I might as well create a happy environment in which to fulfill all my tasks. But what makes me even happier about my new office is that everything has its place. It is all organized, labeled, and where it belongs to make my life just a little bit tidier.
I know it may sound completely odd, but by insides, my soul, just feels cleaner and more alive knowing that I have personally organized, placed and cleaned every single item in my office just as they should be to make my work environment a well oiled machine.
In addition to organizing and cleaning all of my items as they were put away in my new office, I purged old items that I knew I would never have a use for in the future. I threw out at least three huge boxes of unwanted papers, old files, and just odd office paraphernalia that I knew I didn’t need.
Now there were a few files that I rummaged through that needed to be organized a little better than what they had been, but they were files from “a former life” I once knew, but is just a mere blip on my radar of life now; nonetheless they must be filed and stored for possible future use.
It’s funny what time will do; how it will completely change the perspective on an event that was the axis or the bane of your existence day in and day out, and now they are just old pieces of paper collecting dust on a shelf in your new office.
So whether or not you literally need to cleanse your life, or figuratively, to help you move past something in your life…today is the day. Set your goals, prioritize your list of what needs to be done now and what can maybe be put on the back burner; but remember, just because it’s on the back burner doesn’t mean it is to be ignored.
Start your cleanse today, pick a small area of your home or office and just start sifting through it all. You will be amazed at what you find, what you don’t need, and how much cleaner your soul feels when you are finished.


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Accomplishment


In the Tree House: Accomplishment

By: Samantha S. Daviss



Whether you are aware of it or not, every single day of your life holds some sort of fulfilled accomplishment. We all have those days that we feel just drag on; the same monotonous routine day in and day out thinking our lives really aren’t serving a purpose to ourselves or those around us.

We may feel that our simple existence holds no effect on those around us, or just humanity in general. I am not talking about depression or lacking the will to live, I am just talking about the fact that sometimes life can be mundane, and mind-numbing in a word.

But you must realize that every single day of your life is full of accomplishment and achievement for yourself and those around you. Every single choice, decision, and move you make affects all those around you in a positive (or negative) light.

For example, a wife and mother may have completed what seems to be extremely simple tasks for the day which was a quick run to the grocery store, a load of laundry, and possibly preparing dinner for the family. Now to you, that is the same routine you manage every day, but as far as accomplishing something…it is colossal. Because in those three humdrum responsibilities you managed to provide food for your family, offered them clean clothes for the days yet to come, and you’re going to serve up a delicious meal for them full of love and nutrients that they wouldn’t otherwise receive, if it weren’t for your mundane errands.

Even the simplest choices you make offer some sort of accomplishment for yourself and those around you; but you must set those as priorities and follow them as they will determine where your life goes next. I reflect back to the movie “Sliding Doors”, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, in which a simple decision to get on a particular subway train changes the course of her character’s life forever. And that is how I feel about daily life decisions, or as most would call it fate—you must look forward to where you want your life to conclude, and step firmly in that direction.

Our accomplishments are all around us in every move we make…from forgetting something at home and needing to go back to retrieve it, may have resulted in the prevention of a car accident. Or the decision to buy an extra book at the book fair and donating it to the library may have altered a small child’s ability and desire to want to learn how to read.

In those two quick decisions you accomplished two very positive results; the preservation of the loss of a life (or lives); and the expansion of one child’s mind. You must learn to reach into your soul and stop pitying yourself and the repetitiveness of life and find the beauty of what all of your daily accomplishments have to offer the world around you.

Learn to appreciate every moment in life as if it were a gift given to you, not as moments of your life being ripped away from you out of pure torture and boredom. We all have rolls that we must play in this world; some people’s accomplishments are more overt than other—like a researcher finding a cure for cancer; or the president of the United States; or the person who brought down the world’s most abhorrent terrorist. But it’s the people that stand behind those few individuals that got them where they are today.

As an individual on this planet you must realize that no part is to small and the world is our stage; so play the part you were meant to play, and find happiness and joy in every single move you make.  You must learn, nay strive to expect the best from each feat that you provide in every moment of every day and as a result of that attitude it will be those accomplishments that bring you to where you are today, and will take you to where you are headed “tomorrow”. Take pride in every single progression and accomplishment you allow yourself to achieve.


Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The "Weirdo" at the Airport

In the Tree House: The “Weirdo” in the Airport

By: Samantha S. Daviss


Another Daviss adventure is under our belts. Our travel experience and airport experience went fairly smoothly considering we were travelling with three boys, four suitcases, a stroller and two car seats. But we did make it through everything unscathed, and returned safely.

However, we did have one minor setback on this trip… I won’t go into detail, but I will mention that our three year old is newly potty trained, we were trapped on the rental car shuttle bus for a bit, and my husband had an empty cup…so again, I won’t paint a picture for you, I will just leave that up to your imagination. So maybe our clan was lacking a little dignity and class for those 45 seconds, but another story for the books, and no wet pants. Chalk it up to a life experience.

Remember the character “Pig Pen” from Charlie Brown? That is how I feel when our group comes through the airport. Organized chaos. I know what we are doing and where we are going; I typically have everything organized, children accounted for, and all the luggage in order; but we come barreling through like a little dust storm or miniature hurricane, sort of like Pig Pen always did. Full force, and unstoppable. In a way it makes travelling so much easier for us, because they see us coming, so everyone just instantly clears a path for us.

And yes we are typically the ones getting stared at, because of our unruly force of nature; but when you have the opportunity to travel; do you ever really take the time to check out your surroundings? Do you ever really look around at the people sitting next to you at the gate waiting for your plane, or the people in line behind you at security?

Well if you don’t…START! There are some really amazing, and interesting people in the world. To me, there is no need to go anywhere to see other folks, just go to the airport or bus station and you can entertain yourself for hours. Or if you are starting to feel down about yourself or out of sorts…just go to one of these places and you will feel so much better about yourself than you have in a long time.

My favorite travelers are those that have the Blue Tooth earpiece in on the opposite from where you are standing in relation to them, and they are carrying on a full blown conversation (what looks to be) with themselves. It always looks to me like they are talking to an imaginary friend.

But the traveler I fear the most is the one that has been living out in the bush, or wherever they decided to “discover” themselves, and then they are headed home to civilization, but decide to return without using the modern conveniences that we offer today, like a shower or deodorant. And then you are stuck next to them for four hours on the next flight. I don’t judge people, but a bar of soap isn’t passing judgment, it’s just reality.

Or how about the weirdo, leaning against the railing, with just a backpack, a sports coat and jeans on, and Tevo sandals (with socks I might add), just watching everyone pass by. Is he getting story ideas for his next novel, is he contemplating what to do on his trip he is about to embark on, or is he just a weirdo standing there watching every body as they walk by?

That is one of my favorite parts of travelling; is observing the people around me. They absolutely fascinate me. In fact my husband and I play a game, and make up stories about those around us…like where they are going, where they have been, are they running from the law, or have they just met their mistress on a secret hideaway vacation (masquerading as a business trip)? And then there is me, who will just start talking to a brick wall…I love to talk to people and get to know them, on a temporary level…it makes for such great stories. Plus you never know what you can gain or learn from a complete stranger. So learn to enjoy your surroundings and those around you…you have no idea how absolutely fascinating people can truly be.