Feng Shui

 

Granny Hat just happily spent two weeks GivingThanks for her sweet, newest granddaughter and 9th grandchild. She slept swaddled up through most of the visit but snuggled with Granny whose heart is full. Big brother played Chutes & Ladders, enjoyed The Grinch at the theater, and read countless books with Granny Hat. So much fun, a real vacation for Granny! Now back to work!

Mission update: It’s a Small World After All           

The thru-hiking world is indeed a small world. These days Mission studies Biology by day and works at REI by night and weekends. While closing up at the Tustin, CA store the other day, Mission watched a last-minute couple hurry in. The man looked vaguely familiar and when Mission asked how he could help him, he explained that he was hoping to buy a new pair of Hoka walking shoes for his wife. While grabbing the shoes from the store room, it dawned on Mission! He knew the guy!

“One Shot?” Mission inquired as he handed the shoes to the couple.

“Yes, I’m One Shot!”, exclaimed the man, scrutinizing Mission’s face.

“I’m Mission! From the John Muir trail!

“Mission! Good to see you! Did you finish the PCT?”

They had hiked together from Pinchot Pass to Mather Pass, exchanging trail stories. One Shot was out backpacking the JMT and had summited Mt. Whitney a day or two before Mission. While on the slopes he came upon a team of medics treating some serious injuries caused by ice and inexperienced city folk. Some of the rhinestone adventurers even passed the injured right by without stopping to help. One day an urban hiker high on life and short on trail etiquette lost his footing on the icy slope and as he tumbled down the hill, bowled over several people, then picked himself up, brushed the snow off his designer pants and fled the scene. One Shot berated his fellow Los Angeles basin neighbors, greenhorns who spontaneously drive up 395 to conquer the mountains with no wilderness experience, no common sense, not even common decency.

The two hikers plan to get together for coffee. Just talking about the wilderness is a breath of fresh air for Mission!

FENG SHUI

Mission can thru-hike from Mexico to Canada faster than Granny Hat can make any dent whatsoever in her attempts to travel through life lightweight.  For the last two months she has been making a half-hearted stab at the daunting task of purging, re-purposing and donating. Granny’s little Red Prius is always full to the brim these days with bags of old clothes, linens, stuffed animals, trophies, magazines, sewing patterns, lamps, extra dishes, fabric and old curtains for trips to the Salvation Army.

She started with closets, you know, the ones that spill and tumble when you stand three feet away then slowly turn the knob. Next, she tackled the bookshelves which weave a time-honored tale of childhood classics and home-school days.

Years ago, when Granny Hat and dad noticed that their tax dollars weren’t teaching Dick and Jane to read, write, add or memorize, they decided to be pioneers and home-school their children.  One of their first purchases was a beautiful navy blue set of World Book Encyclopedias with Science Year upgrades(still have them, does anyone want them?) When word got out that the family had gone absolutely rogue, boxes of book donations from friends and family came pouring in: National Geographic kids books, subscriptions to National Wildlife Federation publications like Ranger Rick and My Big Backyard, poetry, Shakespeare, art books and atlases. They didn’t need library cards anymore, the library had moved in, Granny Hat and dad still live in their homespun, homeschool library.

Many books have been donated or given to friends and still the shelves are full. And while the closets can’t bury people or pets alive anymore, they are still snug.  Granny Hat has pared away some of the junk fluff and is down to what she calls THE MEMORY LAYER, the accumulation of nostalgic gifts and handmade treasures, some crafted by loved ones who have passed on. Granny Hat has hit a brick wall. She needs guidance!

Granny’s daughter recommended some motivational reading material (don’t worry, these books were borrowed from the library.) This is the first book on the subject she read.

CLEAR YOUR CLUTTER with FENG SHUI by Karen Kingston

First Granny had to learn to say the word, it’s not “Fang Shwee” and it’s not “Fehng Schweye”, it’s more like “Fung Schway”.  Beware, this book advocates more than just self help say-no-to-clutter. It introduces a veritable religion with sin, guilt, rules for redemption, adversaries, prayers  and chants, even holy water. Kingston defines feng shui as “the art of balancing and harmonizing the flow of natural energies in our surroundings to create beneficial effects in our lives.”   She goes on to explain that our hoarding and clutter traps our energy, saps our strength, causes disharmony and embarrasses us. Granny Hat certainly resonates with that last one, it is embarrassing to be a hoarder, they even have a TV show about it that she refuses to watch.

Kingston outlines a plan called a “Bagua”, (sounds like something from Aladdin) essentially a grid designed to help someone like Granny identify her clutter zones at home or work and then begin to “heal areas of life and relationships by removing the excess”. She writes that a cramped wardrobe blocks energy vibrations in our clothing!  Piles of forgotten documents in an office impede financial success, long forgotten treasures stashed under your bed are “in your energy field” and will affect your sleep! (This may explain why dragons usually sleep with one eye open.)

There are even claims in this writing that your health is affected by junk. Clearing it out promises to renew strength and cure what ails. The author advises her readers to never ever keep items that dredge up unpleasant memories because the goals are tranquility and happiness.

Kingston doesn’t just stop with advice about the accumulation of inanimate objects, but takes a giant leap into human relationships, explaining how to clear out friends, bad husbands, and anything that keeps one “from connecting with their higher self.” And when this is done, she recommends sprinkling empty areas with essential oils to further cleanse and restore energy to them. Guess that part is OK, lavender smells wonderful in closets and drawers, even under the bed. Granny keeps sachets in her dresser.

Baguas and energy fields are way too “sci-fi” for Granny Hat. She just wants a cleaner ultralight house, less junk to dust every Saturday, not so much ownership and more freedom.  The goal isn’t a “higher self” or even happiness, such a fleeting, circumstantial feeling. Granny better keep reading to define her strategy and gain courage for the next step. Besides, the more Granny reads, the longer she can put off what she knows she needs to do. At some point research should inspire results.

But  beware, while purging your life of clutter, you may inadvertently and carelessly discard real treasure.  Granny Hat had a moment of panic December 1 when she couldn’t find her Christmas CD’s.  She searched high and low, texted family members to see if they had pinched them, finally found them deep in a “cleaned closet”.  She is happily listening to Mannheim Steamroller and Josh Groban while writing.  There are some things you can’t cavalierly apply a “bagua” too, especially people and Christmas CDs, they are treasures.

Next on the reading list:

THE LIFE CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP (the Japanese art of de-littering and organizing ) by Marie Kondo, Japanese cleaning consultant.