Life is messy

It seems to me that life is messy. I think that's the way it's supposed to be. In order to live, we have to be willing to get dirty. I think it's a mistake to try to make life too clean.

For example. I really like to keep our yard neatly cut, and cleaned. I also want to raise boys that are responsible, and know how to work. I need to let go of the "neat" yard, and let one of them take on the responsibility to maintain it. If I keep that job, then he loses the opportunity to learn. If I let him have the job, then the yard may not look as good as when I do it myself.

My choice was to let go of the clean, and embrace the dirt. I did this in the spring, and now, the yard looks as good as if I had done it. Yeah, once in a while I have to point out a spot that he missed, but that's all part of the learning process.

By embracing the dirt, I got a clean yard. But I got way more than a clean yard, I gave a life lesson to my son. That is way more important than a clean yard.

Life is messy, and I know that I need to learn to embrace the dirt in more areas of my life.