The Big Clean Up - Week #17 of The Awakening Journey

Containers are metaphorical baskets that hold all the stuff of life. Like the stuff of relationships or meetings, pretty much most of what happens does so inside a container. The stronger the container, the more it can hold.

The Big Clean up is one of the most important components of maintaining healthy containers in our lives. However, this isn’t the skill we were taught... Instead, we are taught to be nice, to be quiet, which often means bottling up our resentments and disappointments.  

Cleaning up is a compassionate way to co-creatively and consistently monitor your containers.  


Why Do We Need to Clean Up?

When we do not clean up, the integrity of the container is compromised, it gets leaky & it can eventually fall apart.  

An example of a leaky container is in a relationship or in life where, when an issue arises, the people in the relationship say “well, that’s just how it is” or “I’m just going to ignore that”, “it’s not a big deal” or “I don’t want to rock the boat”. 

Even though it might not be that big of a deal, the container knows. The container knows and feels itself beginning to get compromised. 

Eventually, after ignoring the situation to avoid conflict or seemingly hurting the other person, the relationship erodes. We leave relationships, jobs, marriages, and in many cases altogether abandon situations in our world today. 


The Lie About Cleaning Up

The lie about cleaning up is that it hurts relationships. This is what we’ve been programmed to believe. 

The truth is that when we clean up when the cleanup process is done with integrity, our containers are stronger than ever! Our relationships flourish, we give ourselves time, energy, and peace back where we used to spend thinking about these leaky containers. 

We now have space free to focus on areas in our life that truly matter. Like being present, creating impact, and living our purpose.

After cleaning up a container, I feel more creative and alive and so generative. And… energized.


How Do We Clean Up?

First, start with cleaning up with yourself. Meaning, you need to have a Coming to Self meeting with you to make sure you’ve secured any leaks with you. Triggers, traumas, anything you might be projecting onto the other person.

For example, you might need to tweak your container with a colleague. I’m going to look at what is going on a deeper level here. Maybe he triggered you because he reminds you of a boss that used to take credit for your work.  

Or a former significant other who used to be dishonest and you are assigning or projecting this feeling onto your current significant other. Clean this up with yourself first!

Second, get clarity about what you want to create and for the sake of what. For example, “I want to have a clean container so we can work together and have success at work”.  

In a personal relationship, it seems obvious that you want a clean container so you can have a better relationship and happiness. But this is not always true. Sometimes if we are honest with ourselves we don’t really want this. So get clear about the why.

Third, now you are ready to clean up and strengthen your container with the other person. Decide how you want to clean up - I’m attaching an assumption exercise below for you to practice.

Assumption Exercise attached here.


How Does This Align to Awakening?

When the container is leaking, you are reacting to the world and not in alignment with it. When your container is clear and tight, you are living as a creator. You are aligned and in the flow of your awakening.  

Your vibrational frequency is higher. You free up the parts of you that were giving energy to the pile of poo in your container and not letting it smell up the room.


And why does awakening matter?

Awakening to your Inner Leader is what we are all here to do. Being the fullest expression of your True Self. 

Being all of you at every moment and leveraging the impact of that out in the world. 


Your Practice For This Week

Try practicing the clean-up exercise, clearing assumptions with someone, perhaps choose a relationship where you are close but not so close that you are unleashing a whole lot of baggage all at once. 

You might choose a close friend that you have a lot of trust built up with. 

Assumption Clearing Exercise download again.


Next week, we will talk about Adding Reeds to your Basket: Intentions, Intentionality, and Goals, in the meanwhile, remember the present moment is where your best life happens.

With love, presence and gratitude,

Darla