There is a “practical book” to define, refine and align individual perception of joy and sorrow with your individual personal life in an individual, personal way. The intellectual integrity which puts a solid structure in this seemingly mundane task is founded on a religious belief — Japanese Shinto.
The youngster who wrote the book is Marie Kondo. She is a 30 year old who has had extraordinary dedication — fanaticism, if you will — to do one thing perfectly since she was a very young child — tidying up. Her first book which in fact got incredible, worldwide acceptance, is called “The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up. The guiding principle of the book is that your life to date is reflected by what you possess and the effect is that most people clutter up their lives instead of surrounding themselves with only those things that “spark joy.”
It is also a way of redemption, if you feel you need it. She does not discuss religion in her book, she applies it.
It really doesn’t matter what is your objective in life. What does matter is that it brings you the happiness you seek. Through the trivial act of recognizing the things you have, giving thanks for their service, and discarding them with gratitude when they no longer give you joy, you hone your own decision making skills so you learn to surround yourself increasingly only with things that bring you joy and are ruthless about discarding anything that does not. Certainly a practical method for redeeming your life.
So, it ties belief to your actions and decisions, helps you think, decide and believe with conviction, instead of saying what others say they want to hear, which is not even second hand belief, because they too are playing the same game. Instead your beliefs become based on first hand tangible proof — you acquired or built it because it really brought you joy.
Not likely the “religious article” you expected, but I am very conscious of conscience, both as a nudge and as a guiding factor in ones life. And tidying up ones possessions perfectly is certainly a way to aim for achievable personal perfection. It puts each person in touch with their own god, and drops all the justification for not living the best life they can.
Tags: Faith religion
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