Clearing The Clutter Quotes

Clutter may rob us of the life we imagined or prevent us from creating a new vision for our future. ~ Lisa J. Shultz

And there was no way I could talk about it with Dad. Our version of "the talk" had been him clearing his throat awkwardly for about ten minutes straight as he attempted to explain to me the importance of condoms. I was fourteen, and, needless to say, it was an experience I never wanted to relive. ~ Kody Keplinger

And dear Ajay, the Ozone Destroyer! What can I say, aside from: Thank God you are clearing the hell outta my minivan before the seats melt. ~ Laurie Boyle Crompton

(T)here was something in the timbre and inflection of his words that seemed to rummage through a clutter of ancestral fragments to remind me of the person I may have been born to be but had not become. If I didn't take his daily rants against America seriously, it was because it was never really America he was inveighing against, nor was his the voice of a bewildered Middle East trying to fend off a decaying and implacable West. What I heard instead was the raspy, wheezing, threatened voice of an older order of mankind, older ways of being human, raging, raging against the tide of something new that had the semblance and behavior of humanity but really wasn't. It was not a clash of civilizations or of values or of cultures; it was a question of which organ, which chamber of the heart, which one of its clear five senses would humanity cut off to join modernity. ~ Andre Aciman

JENNET:
They also say that I bring back the past;
For instance Helen comes
Brushing the maggots from her eyes,
And, clearing here throat of the dust of several thousand years
She says "I loved ... "; but cannot any longer
Remember names. Sad Helen. Or Alexander, wearing
His imperial cobwebs and breastplate of shining worms
Wakens and looks for his glasses, to find the empire
Which he knows he put beside his bed. ~ Christopher Fry

The simple rhythms of nature are calling you. Let them wash away the clutter and distractions from your false life. ~ Bryant McGill

As parents we also define ourselves by what we bring our attention and presence to. This is easy to forget when daily life feels more like triage. By eliminating some of the clutter in our lives we can concentrate on what we really value, not just what we're buried under, or deluged with. ~ Kim John Payne

Together they stood in the doorway. For Sethe it was as though the Clearing had come to her with all its heat and simmering leaves, where the voices of women searched for the right combination, the key, the code, the sound that broke the back of words. ~ Toni Morrison

Cam stepped into the clearing. His eyes were rimmed with a thick, shimmering gold shadow, and it shone on his face in the moonlight, making him look like a wildcat. ~ Lauren Kate

Just as food is a craft, great service is, too. It can take years to perfect the technical aspects of clearing a plate, carving tableside, or pouring wine, and a lifetime to master the emotional elements of service. ~ Daniel Humm

The room was not impressively large, even by Manhattan apartment-house standards, but its accumulated furnishings might have lent a snug appearance to a banquet hall in Valhalla. ~ J.D. Salinger

It's more and more difficult to get through to your audience with all of the clutter. This is a great way for Ace to get [its] message out. ~ Bill Rancic

She had a reputation throughout the Clans for a sharp tongue and a short temper, as well as fearlessness in battle and deep pride in ShadowClan. She played a vital role in helping establish the new territory beside the lake when she took on the troublesome kittypets who lived in a Twoleg den amid the pine trees. Even as she got older and more frail, Russetfur remained the ShadowClan deputy, keeping younger warriors in line with her brisk words and high expectations. She was killed by Lionblaze in a battle over the clearing between ShadowClan and ThunderClan; her death was a shock to everyone, and there were suggestions that such an old cat should not have been allowed to fight. But it was the death Russetfur would have chosen for herself, bravely and in the midst of battle on behalf of her beloved ShadowClan. ~ Erin Hunter

On the last Saturday of every month, Rwanda goes to work for itself: clearing land, building classrooms, making roads. On these national days of community work, known as umuganda, most shops and businesses are closed. Umuganda is a national priority, and everyone is expected to participate. ~ Patricia Crisafulli

To produce a really good biological theory one must try to see through the clutter produced by evolution to the basic mechanisms lying beneath them, realizing that they are likely to be overlaid by other, secondary mechanisms. What seems to physicists to be a hopelessly complicated process may have been what nature found simplest, because nature could only build on what was already there. ~ Francis Crick

Galen places a hand on my thigh under the table and gives it a gentle squeeze. It's not meant to be sensual at all, but I've been going through Galen-withdrawals and I can't help but acknowledge the sensation of lava flowing through my veins. I try, try, try to respect that it's meant to comfort me. Galen must see it on my face because his eyes widen before he moves his hand away from me. "There's nothing for us to go back to, Emma," Galen says, clearing his throat. "That tribunal should have never happened. The Syrena world we once knew doesn't exist anymore."
So I was right. The only thing stopping him in the bedroom earlier was my wound. Not Syrena law. Not Syrena tradition. ~ Anna Banks

Brambleclaw dipped his head. "The battle is won," he growled. "The clearing is ours. Do you concede or shall we fight for it again?"
Blackstar flashed a look of burning hatred over his shoulder. "Take it," he hissed. "It was never worth the blood that has been spilled here today. ~ Erin Hunter

The practice of imagination, on an everyday basis, involves clearing unhelpful images that block or misdirect our energies, and choosing to focus on positive, mobilizing imagery that gives us courage and confidence. ~ Robert Moss

Clutter, either mental or physical, is the sign of a healthy curiosity. ~ Christopher Fowler

In the valley of unknown, in my moments of uncertainty, the clutter flees and silence allows me to hear the voice of the LORD ~ Jonah Books.com

Let's detox our cluttered academic brain. That's what the poet does. People call it daydreaming, detoxing our minds and taking care of that clutter. It's being able to let in call letters from the poetry universe. ~ Juan Felipe Herrera

To the extent that clutter gets in the way of living in the kind of environment we'd like to be living in and leaves us feeling stressed or remiss, we can all improve our relationships to our possessions. ~ Robin Zasio

But frost, like the crystallized dreams of autumn, began to coat the clearing with its sugar glaze. ~ Victoria Steele Logue

Not a wonder you are out camping with us princess," Rizz said dryly.
Falita gave a clearing snort of her opposite nostril and looked up. "Why's that?"
"One can't go snorting and blowing snot all over a castle. It would ruin the décor!"
Falita ignored the comment. "A bath would certainly freshen things up."
"You've bathed three times in five days. How many more baths do you need?" Artamos asked.
"Enough to stay clean, and I don't recall either of you bathing on this trip."
"I don't need to Princess," Rizz replied. "I have my own naturally sweet odor."
Falita scrunched up her nose, "I'm aware of that, and it is not pleasing in camp. ~ M.L. Hall

Wherever the Lord makes a provision, we are quite sure that there was a need for it. No superfluities clutter the covenant of grace. ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

We all have a million things vying for our attention. If you tell yourself that you don't have enough time to clear out your junk, you might be delaying the well-being and relief you could experience by tackling it. If not now, when? ~ Lisa J. Shultz

It's too early for strawberries. But the clearing is filled with their leaves and their little white flowers, like fallen stars. The wishing well was covered, too, so that only someone who knew it was there would have really noticed it. It looks like a barrow under the green; somewhere fairies or goblins might live. ~ Joanne Harris

Complexity catastrophes help explain why bureaucracy seems to grow with the tenacity of weeds. Many companies go through bureaucracy-clearing exercises only to find it has sprung back a few years later. No one ever sits down to deliberately design a bureaucratic muddle. Instead, bureaucracy springs up as people just try to optimize their local patch of the network: finance is just trying to ensure that the numbers add up, legal wants to keep us out of jail, and marketing is trying to promote the brand. The problem isn't dumb people or evil intentions. Rather, network growth creates interdependencies, interdependencies create conflicting constraints, and conflicting constraints create slow decision making and, ultimately, bureaucratic gridlock. ~ Eric D. Beinhocker

The Yellow River is boundless
flowing east without cease
on and on never clearing
while everyone's lifespan ends
and ifyou would ride the clouds
how will you grow wings
unless while your hair is black
you make an effort moving or still ~ Han-shan

This is where we come," he said.
Albie and I look at each other. "We?"
"Me and, you know."
Albie's eyes got wide. "I really don't think I want to know about this."
I surprised myself. "I do," I said. I guess I was tired of having to withhold the truth from Toby. Other than Ben, he and Albie we're easily my best friends at Natick.
Toby looked a little surprised, like he'd just assumed we wouldn't want to hear the details.
"You do?"
"Yeah."
He looked around to make sure we were alone. We definitely were. No one came back here to my knowledge. Also it was cold. Like twenty degrees. Only three idiots would be in the woods in the winter, it seemed to me.
"Robinson" he said.
"Gorilla Butt," I said, nodding. "I know."
"You know?"
"Yup."
Toby crossed his arms an then deflated into a fake pout. "You're stealing my scene, bitch. Scene stealer."
"Sorry," I said. "So you and Gorilla Butt. Wow."
He flipped me off. "He hates that," Toby said. "But, yeah. It's hairy."
"Oh, look, almost anything else in the universe," Albie said, heading back to campus and leaving us in the clearing.
"He's such a prude," Toby said rolling his eyes. ~ Bill Konigsberg

[When you write a play] you walk into a forest without a knife, without a compass. But ... if you have a sense of geography, you find that you're clearing a path and getting to the right place. ~ Neil Simon

Gazing into the heavens on a starry night a person sees the reflection of their own soul staring back at them. Perceiving our microscopic place in the revolving cosmos, we search to ascertain a meaning for our existence; we stretch our minds to comprehend a reason that justifies our fleeting journey in a universe composed of dark energy. Comprehension of a full-bodied meaning for living seems to lie just beyond my grasp. Perhaps I struggle dialing into a meaning for life because living entails adapting to a constant state of chaos. Can I harmonize the noisy commotion and distracting clutter in my life? I need to overcome personal inertia by learning to become comfortable with these changing times. In actuality, I have no choice but to capitulate to the evolution of facets in the world. Everything in the universe is undergoing constant change. Alike all humankind, I am also in the process of evolving. Who I was will undoubtedly affect who I will become. Who I am now is not who I will always be. The demands imposed upon us by the exterior world prevent stagnation of our interior world. We must all respond to change by either growing or dying. Even a blockhead such as me proves alterable, because inherent mutability ensures the survival of all persons. The entire world is interconnected; we are part of the cosmic consciousness. Many factors beyond our direct control influence us. ~ Kilroy J. Oldster

The meaning I picked, the one that changed my life: Overcome fear, behold wonder. ~ Richard Bach

I clung to the pain like a badge of honor. Blood dripped in a slow splatter from a deep gash in my forearm, and my left knee throbbed from a vicious twist, but I couldn't suppress my grin. I dragged my sleeve across my face to clear some of the sweat and grime, and squinted at the massive demon who crouched beside the white trunks of grove trees a dozen feet across the clearing. ~ Diana Rowland

And through the opening or clearing in your own awareness may come flashing higher truths, subtler revelations, profound connections. For a moment you might even touch eternity. ~ Ken Wilber

Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow! ~ Og Mandino

Ryder's in jeans and his shirt from last night, and he's staring at the fridge. When I pad closer, I see he's not just staring at the door. I've hung my various ultrasound pictures to the silvery surface, and he's studying them. His index finger is poised over my recent twenty-week one, and he's tracing the outline of the baby's legs.

"Hi," I say, clearing my throat.

He straightens and then smiles. It's a sheepish look, as if he's been caught. "Just checking out Papaya."

I love that the name Papaya has stuck. That must be a sign he feels the same. I gesture to the thirteen-week picture, when I first heard the heartbeat. "I think Papaya was a fig in that one. Funny thing - when I was so sick, Papaya was only a kidney bean."

"Kidney beans are known to be troublemakers." He steps closer, drops a strangely chaste kiss to my forehead, and sets his hands on my belly. "And I think Papaya is almost a mango now, right?"

I nod. "How did you know?"

"I might have googled pregnancy-to-fruit comparisons. Papaya will be an eggplant in a little while."

I blink. Holy shit. He really knows his pregnancy fruits. Better than I do. ~ Lauren Blakely

I think if Jesus was here teaching in the flesh again, he'd be turning over tables, clearing out churches, and raising some serious ruckus over how we are not only missing the point but are continuing to damage far too many people in the name of God. ~ Kathy Escobar

Let you avoid becoming the victim of your own clutter, aggravation, commotion & havoc created by you knowingly or unintendedly. Let you do not remain stuck in your dilemmas for long. Let you commit to yourself more now than ever & take proactive action to align your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals & values to accomplish your journey more smoothly while wasting less energy. Let you begin rediscovering your trueself to feel livelier, more vibrant & to achieve the most satisfaction. Let you remain joyful throughout the day & choose to heal yourself, your surroundings & your world. Let your distinction, abundance & splendor grow rapidly with each passing day. Stay Blessed & Feel Good! ~ Rajesh Goyal

Acting is being susceptible to what is around you, and it's letting it all come in. Acting is a clearing away of everything except what you want and need - and it's wonderful in that way. And when it's right, you're lost in the moment. ~ Meryl Streep

The air brightened, the running shadow patches were now the obverse, and it seemed to him that the fact that the day was clearing was another cunning stroke on the part of the foe, the fresh battle toward which he was carrying ancient wounds. ~ William Faulkner

Hours slide by like minutes. The accumulated clutter of day-to-day existence - the lapses of conscience, the unpaid bills, the bungled opportunities, the dust under the couch, the inescapable prison of your genes - all of it is temporarily forgotten, crowded from your thoughts by an overpowering clarity of purpose and by the seriousness of the task at hand. ~ Jon Krakauer

The long gray two-story box was the newest structure on the property, having been built in the 1970s. The buildings up the hill had accumulated one by one since the 1920s, most of them incorporating bits salvaged from various torn-down hotels and movie sets. Their aunt Amity, affluent from the sales of her series of popular novels, had added to the architectural clutter after ~ Tim Powers

My parents often remind my brothers and me that they won't have any money for us to inherit, but I think they've already passed on to us the wealth of their memories, allowing us to grasp the beauty of a flowering wisteria, the delicacy of a word, the power of wonder. Even more, they've given us feet for walking to our dreams, to infinity. Which may be enough baggage to continue our journey on our own. Otherwise, we would pointlessly clutter our path with possessions to transport, to insure, to take care of. ~ Kim Thuy

When we launched The Deck, I hoped other networks would take inspiration from it and figure out how to increase engagement while minimizing clutter. I even tried to sell my studio's media clients on the notion of fewer, better-priced, better-targeted ads. ~ Jeffrey Zeldman

Excuse me," she said tartly, "but this is my horse. It is, in effect, my clearing as well, so if you don't mind I would prefer that you leave here at once."
Amused, he raised an eyebrow. "And if I said I preferred to stay?"
She drew a slow breath. "I would say that you were a nuisance and a trespasser, as impudent and lacking in scruples as any man I have ever had the misfortune to meet. And one who no doubt has had thoughts of poaching, even if he has not done so already."
He edged closer, and Catherine felt the heat of the midnight eyes rake her again.
"Indeed, I am beginning to have thoughts, Mistress Ashbrooke," he murmured. "But not of poaching. ~ Marsha Canham