Day 24.
Now
I’m in the middle of a 5-day detox program in Phuket.
This is one of those ‘complete’ detox programs with:
- Colon-cleansing / Colon Hydrotherapy
- Complete juice fast (no chewing)
- Exercises, massages, additional therapies; mineral, herbal and vitamin supplements that support the cleansing of the liver, gut and the entire body really.
Last 5 Days – An Unfulfilled Commitment, Revealing a Life of Unfulfilled Commitments.
While I committed to blogging every day this year, I didn’t for the last 4 days. I did – for the first 15 days of the year, even despite rather intense daily schedules – but I stopped.
I had some good reasons – in the 4 days leading up to this trip, I completed a 3-day Emergenetics Associates Program that certifies me to conduct Emergenetics Workshops. During the same time – I was preparing for a house-move that my family and a trusted colleague oversaw.
On the last day of the program, I left in the morning with my luggage, and returned to a new home that evening.
And the next day – I was off on a plane to Phuket for this detox program.
And on this program, I chose not to blog daily – thinking that any form of ‘work’ would interfere with my participating in the program.
All the above are reasons. And they don’t mask the fact that I didn’t do what I committed to do. And such is the experience of life (for me) – a clutter of unfulfilled commitments and unmet expectations.
That’s why I’m committed to a continual examination of ‘my state of integrity’. Some background here: www.melvinyuan.com/integrity
On the other hand, I’m pleased with my adherence to the other commitments I’ve made:
- 24 days without meats, alcohol and junk food (sweets/cakes/snacks)
- 24 days without Social Media… i.e. completely off Facebook (except for automated posts – like this one.
- 24 days without reading online news
- 24 days of material de-cluttering. Giving or throwing at least one thing away every day. And throwing out a huge chunk of stuff just before moving. (p/s: it can be an emotional process.)
- During these 24 days, I’ve made several attempts to observe where – in my life, I might have left something un-communicated (or under-communicated); where I might have left commitments and expectations unfulfilled. And when I see something, I made (pretty successful) attempts to resolve them.
The De-clutter Project
The detox program I’m on, my continual examination of how and when I leave commitments to myself and to others unfulfilled, are part of the ‘de-clutter’ project I embarked on at the start of this year.
The Body Reveals Everything (about Life)
If I had one thing to summarize my entire experience so far (at the detox centre) – it is the revelation of:
- How much waste and toxin that’s lurking in our bodies even without us knowing. I’m gonna skip the details – but read about colon-cleansing, and wholistic detox, and you’ll be both disgusted and amazed at the same time.
- How little we actually need to consume, to be healthy; and how easily we consume more – to the detriment of our bodies and well-being.
While I say this of the physical body, the exact same thing can be said about our living spaces, our physical environments, our business and job-scope, our social networks, our consumption of media… everything.
This journey so far – has been entirely satisfying. Because I’ve revealed to myself – how much clutter there is in my life.
But just as I feel the occasional hunger pangs in my stomach, and the occasional whetting of my appetite at the taste of food – there is also a need to think of a clear and compelling plan for the rest of my life.
After a (physical) detox, it’s important to fill the body with good food. And so – as I ‘de-clutter’ the other aspects of my life, I’ll want to discover and create a worthy plan for:
- My life’s work
- Being part of, and contributing to, the lives of family and friends
- Living a high-quality of life – marked by prudent consumption, lavish experiences, and without regret
- Maintaining home-bases in a couple of countries, in a way that works, and without waste
Life. There’s just a lot of clutter.
Several times on this journey, I feel pangs of discouragement. There’s just so much clutter… and more significantly, there’s just so much propensity for clutter to accumulate.
- We have increasing number of media channels.
- We have increasing number of friends – leading to social commitments (spoken and unspoken).
- We have increasing job scopes, business oppportunities, side projects etc. – leading to complex and compounding commitments to ‘work’.
- We have a culture of consumption – enough said.
- We have a culture of over-eating.
All of that, and more.
But now that I’ve experienced a thorough physical detox – I can see the possibilities for a Clutter-free life.
