It seems obvious, really. But it doesn't just apply to cupboards - it applies to thoughts and ideas and attitudes as well. Sometimes you have to take everything out of your head, lay it out in order and ask yourself whether it belongs in the cupboard at all.
Some of us don't like doing this very much. The cupboard is a safe place for our thoughts, especially the ones that hide at the back behind the chilli-sauce and the tin of emergency spam. We haven't thought about those things in a long time. Why now?
Then there are others who don't like the whole process at all because they don't understand what we're doing, and they're a bit afraid of it.
"Why is the kitchen full of old cans of tuna steaks and half-used tomato ketchups?" they wonder. It makes no sense - those things belong in the cupboard. What is this brave new world where you empty out everything and leave it all over the place?
Now true, when you empty a cupboard, it is quite likely that most of it will go back, and largely in exactly the same place it came from. It's good to know though, that it's in the right place. It's also good to know that you've got rid of things you no longer need that were just taking up space.
I've come to realise that I do this a lot, and it seems to frustrate some people. It must appear like such a waste of time to talk about things we know we all agree on; yet it's invaluable to me to use that as context for the problem we're trying to discuss. I'm afraid I'm not clever enough to process the subject in the short amount of time it takes for us to talk about the detail. I frequently need a bigger picture. I need an empty cupboard.
No comments:
Post a Comment