Inspired By Cleanliness (not that kind!)

Hello Friends. It has been ages since I have written. And today I am actually writing about something that happened in January. But…I woke up and just felt a strong need to share it.

First, to clarify, the virtue of cleanliness does not just mean “go take a shower” or “your house is a sty”. It means the virtue of having clean words, thoughts and actions. It is starting fresh. It is forgiving. And of course, it does also mean taking care of your body and keep your space organized. With that said…here is the story.

No matter how much people try to convince me to let my kids ride the bus, I am not willing to give up the conversations I overhear in the car on the way to and from school yet. Here is what I mean…

On January 21st, I looked back at my giggly kids on the way to school and asked them if they knew why the day was special. My seven-year-old had been watching the political shows and debates with me all year, so without hesitation, he answered, “Today we get a new President.” (I’ll save the hilarious discussion about the first African American President, women Presidents and Mom running for President for another blog post.)

Jake, the five-year-old, asked his brother, “How do you get to be President, Breck.”

“Well, Jake,” Breck pontificated, “first, you have to go around the country and make a bunch of speeches about America. And then people vote for you.”

“Let’s run for President then, Breck.” Breck thought for awhile and said, “No, because then we would have to compete against each other.”

Jake, Kid Charisma, says, “Well, I’ll do it then!”

Being the older brother, Breck felt the need to educate Jake a little. “Jake, you can’t just sit behind a desk and play video games you know. You have to do good things for people.”

So Jake says, “I know, Breck! I would tell people not to JUNK up the world.”

Breck clears his throat and says, “But you’d have to say it like this…If you take care of the Earth, the Earth will take care of you.”

Out of the mouths of babes. I actually had to wipe a tear away. The innocence and truth was just so beautiful. How nice would it be if we could follow these simple words and not junk up the world; whether taking about pollution, or ugly words, or gossip or harsh actions. If we focused on the task of cleanliness…how much would right itself in this world?

Challenge yourself to leave a “Day of Cleanliness”. What happened? Was it easy? What parts were difficult? Please share your thoughts with us here!