“Seek not to be cumbered…” (D&C 66:10)
This simple, but powerful line is very helpful for a bunch
of different situations relating to dealing with our goods, both to de-clutter
and to remain de-cluttered.
To be “cumbered” means to be restricted, restrained,
bounded, limited, or curbed, so when we are cumbered by our stuff, we are
restricted by the large amounts we have.
How can seeking not to be cumbered help us?
It can help us at the store when we find things we like and
want to buy. If our goal is to
keep from being cumbered, then we have a license to be incredibly picky about
what we buy and bring home. It
means that we can think before we plunk down our money.
While we often think about how things will help us, we can also think
realistically about the demands those things will put on us. It will eventually get dirty. How will we clean it? Where will we keep it? Is there room for it? Will it fill all the needs it can
possibly fill? There have been
many times that I have looked at a product, liked it, but have refrained from
buying it because I had no idea how to care for it and didn’t want the stress
(or guilt) of living with the duty of cleaning and caring for it. If we follow that single instruction –
seek not to be cumbered – it can help us avoid impulsive buying, which causes
clutter. It takes practice at first and a lot of conscious thought, but if we work at it, it can become second nature.
I was trying to think of an example to share and I realized that so much of my thinking about this has become automatic now that examples I came up with were from when I was first practicing the technique. I remember contemplating a sheepskin rug at IKEA because I liked the fuzzy factor, but I couldn't figure out how I would clean it once it got dirty. Vacuum? Washing machine? Beat it with a tennis racket? If I put it somewhere out of the way, it would stay clean, but then I would hardly enjoy it as much as I liked. If I used it often, it would get dirty faster. Finally I just decided to forget the idea.
"Seek not to be cumbered" can also help us when we are trying to get rid of clutter;
it can change our focus from finding excuses to keep things to finding excuses to let go of things.
You
know what things are burdening you and holding you back, so let them go. Let go of the broken things you haven’t
had time to fix and don’t know how.
Let go of the mismatches, the outgrown clothes, the unread magazines and
newspapers, the books you haven’t looked at, the movies you haven’t watched,
the craft supplies you haven’t touched.
5 comments:
There are a few things I love about this post.
1) I think that you're right with your assessment of this scripture and how it can apply in our lives. Our stuff can and does cumber many of us. Even if we aren't "hoarders", many of us our cumbered by our things. They can end up taking more time and thought than we should give them - I mean, it is all just stuff. Also, material goods can cumber us if we are going into debt for them.
2) I love the way that scriptures can apply to us on so many levels. I recently wrote about being anxiously engaged in a good cause, and also referred to D&C 66:10 - in regards to being to busy. (ie - Martha). I love how the scriptures teach us so many things on so many levels.
You're right, Catania, it can apply to us in other ways besides possessions. The main way we could probably consider it is in terms of sin. We should seek not to be cumbered by sin, and repent.
What a great blog this is! :) Just a quick note... Another way we can seek not to be cumbered is by keeping our minds free of excessive worry and thoughts of things we have no control over.
Very true, Corine, there is such thing as mental clutter. I think journals are excellent tools for dumping mental clutter.
I think that phrase, "seek not to be cumbered", is very similar you the verse, "take no thought therefore for the morrow,for the morrow take thought for the things of itself". The final sentence defines where our thoughts should be directed;in resisting evil. It states, "for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof". If our minds are cluttered with what shall we eat, wear, entertain ourselves with, then we focus or thoughts and continual prayer towards those things, often forgetting to focus on doing good, serving, resisting evil, and can cause is to not be receptive to holy prompting. In a temporal sense, it can detain us from accomplishing the necessary work of the day, or cause is to perform unsatisfactory. Constant prayer in our hearts can keep us "in the moment" enhancing both our temporal and spiritual performance.
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