Embrace Your Overall Vision: It May Be Hiding in the Strangest Places

By Catherine Franz Thinking back on it, my lifestyle change journey really began about eight years ago. But I didn't become aware of it until about three years ago when I consciously decided I needed to lead a "lighter" life and started by cleaning out the medicine cabinet. It seems so simple now, but it took three months before I could let go of the contents of that 14 x 16- inch space. Every time I went in that cabinet, a more honest assessment yielded more trash. Soon it became easier to be honest about the clutter of my life, at least the old stuff. Memory stuff was not so easy--things my parents gave me, my ex- husband, old boyfriends, friends--I'm sure you get the picture. Of course, the kids' stuff was the hardest. But practice does make perfect, and in time I was able to make hard choices about what was really important to me. Slowly but steadily over the next three years I conquered the rest of my house-- purging and cleaning every corner, cabinet and room. Happy with what I'd accomplished, by fall of 2005 I was ready to focus on other life shifting goals. It was as if cleaning out the medicine cabinet and the rest of the house was the catalyst for other, bigger changes. And the messages to make changes were all around me. Early in November 2005, I started hearing them. "It