Attic clear, next up office
Made it through the entire attic yesterday. Whew! I opened nearly every box up there and what a relief to throw away so many old things I felt the need to hang on to for so long.
Notes, clippings and files were most of what got tossed. Thinking aloud to Greg, as I often do, I realized that for nearly 10 years I have been writing for clients and find myself feeling in charge their "institutional memory."
I have completed histories for hospitals and health sciences colleges and schools; several public agencies; other assorted university departments, colleges and schools. I have enjoyed researching these projects a great deal. I enjoy jumping in to projects that are enromous, complex and downright impossible at first glance, and bringing order and meaning to them.
But in that Southern way, I find myself feeling responsible for them somehow, like they've become dependent family members. No one has asked me to assume this role and my clients would probably howl with laughter if they knew I harbored this exaggerated sense of responsibility.
So my attic was full of their histories, their reports, calendars and internal newsletters. I held on to them ... in case someone needed them.
With time's passing, I've realized I don't have to be a self-contained research center. Everyone has their libraries and internal files which they are always happy to share with me and which I can return to them when the project concludes.
My purpose is to write ... it's the one thing I can contribute to this world ... along with saving trees and whales but that's another topic. Writing takes the focus on a diamond mind and that doesn't come naturally to me.
A clear mind takes ... well, a clean attic. That's my theory, anyway. I'm sticking to it.
