Don’t Skip the Ceremony! jordanmarsh6, December 7, 2021April 5, 2023 In 2014, a book was translated into English and published in the United States. This book became a New York Times best seller and sold more than 1.5 million copies. This book rocketed its author to international fame and started a movement unlike anything else. The book was titled The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing; the author was Marie Kondo. Marie Kondo made famous her method for tidying up; called the KonMari Method. I have to admit, when I first heard about it, I thought it was pretty silly. But if you read my last post, then you know if I thought it was silly, that probably means other people think it is too, and thus that means Marie Kondo is making a difference in the world. A couple things jump out to me about her method: When making a decision to keep or discard a particular item, you have to ask yourself if it “sparks joy”. If you feel it does, you keep it. If you feel it doesn’t, you discard it. However, you don’t just discard those things that no longer spark joy, you give them thanks for what they did for you. This “ceremony” serves to make the act of tidying up more official: you decide if the item sparks joy, and you actively give thanks to those things that no longer spark joy before discarding them. I have a hypothetical for you: what if you followed all of Marie Kondo’s methods, except for this ritual that she encourages you to perform? I’ve seen a few videos where she shows you how to fold a shirt and pants in such a way that you can neatly pack them in your drawers. She also encourages you to tidy in a particular order: start with clothes, then move on to books, papers, miscellaneous items, and then sentimental items. That seems like a reasonable thing to do. You may find that you are able to tidy up, but I am sure that Marie would agree that you are selling yourself short by not engaging in the ritual of deciding what sparks joy and then giving thanks to seemingly inanimate objects. The ritual, the KonMari Method, is what made Marie Kondo a household name. I have similarly encouraged my readers to make a ritual out of the identities they wish to pursue in life. Like those that just want to utilize the practical suggestions Marie Kondo makes to tidy up, you may be tempted to just skip performing the ceremony because it seems cheesy or weird. But you’re selling yourself short. These ceremonies will help you to embed commitment and purpose into your soul and will help you remember why you ever started on the path to improving yourself when it inevitably gets difficult later. Self Improvement