Imagine how dusty your home would be if you didn’t dust for months, or maybe even years. Would you even recognize the once remarkable furniture you treasured finding so many years ago? Or see the charm and appeal that drove you to buy your home to begin with?
The same is true for your relationships.
It’s natural for dust to appear in relationships too, and over time the dust builds and eventually prevents us from seeing the magic that drew us together in the first place.
There are two things that can occur in relationships that cause this dust to build.
First, in relationships and life, it’s common for us to endure small upsets, misunderstandings, and thwarted expectations. We don’t address them at the time they happen, thinking they aren’t that big of a deal. Those small upsets and misunderstandings are the dust of your relationship.
Second, we tend to avoid conversations, leave projects incomplete, promise something we never finish, etc. Over time, these small things build up and if never addressed form a haze, cloud, or barrier to our aliveness and connection with others and the world around us.
This applies to romantic relationships, friendships, family and even your team, colleagues and co-workers. It’s natural in relationships for stuff to happen, pile up and over time create a barrier in the connection. But we all know that when our key relationships aren’t right – it impacts everything.
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. There are specific steps you can take to restore the connection and the magic and most important – keep it alive.
Imagine a relationship where you both have a commitment to clearing the dust. This means that as things happen, instead of brushing it aside, you address it simply and directly and let it go. In some relationships it will only require you doing the initial work and then – as one of my clients said – “it’s contagious.”
I call this act “Sweeping”.
The Art of Sweeping
The art of sweeping might sound corny to some, but it has the potential to change the quality of your relationships forever. I never thought it was possible to fall in love over and over again….but, guess what? It is! This is possible with your partner, your friends and even with yourself. When you keep your own mind swept, you can keep falling in love with your life too.
The practice of sweeping is a commitment to addressing the little things as they happen or shortly after, so they don’t build up. This is key to keeping the spark alive in yourself, relationships and in your everyday life. Just like we must sweep and dust our homes, the same holds true in our life. This practice is a game changer!
Here’s how to get started “Sweeping”
1. Get out a notebook. Look through your life and make a list of areas that need sweeping. Examples: Unfinished projects, things you are avoiding, promises you made but haven’t followed through on, incomplete conversations that you have been stewing on, etc…
2. Explore in your journal how you plan to “sweep” this area and write about the positive impact it will have to get it complete and let it go.
3. Continue to practice. Practice weekly and use this first month to create a plan for making this an ongoing habit in your life.
This is an incredible practice to harness and maximize your energy and is recommended on a regular basis. Unfinished business robs your precious energy. Imagine the places you can put this restored energy!
Here’s to sweeping your relationships and expanding love all over – not just this month, but a practice to keep for all your days.
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