How it all started

A couple of weeks ago, in one of those odd synchronicities, my day emptied out -- all my clients called to cancel. Very strange, but I just flowed with it. Anyway, about 1PM, I got this phone call, with a familiar Japanese-accented female voice on the other end of the line. As soon as I heard it, I exclaimed, "Yumi! How nice to hear from you! Where are you?"

She was at the airport -- about 10 minutes away! And stranded, as her flight from Tucson had arrived late due to the fog at SFO, and so she'd missed her plane home to Tokyo. I immediately told her I'd be there to pick her up in 20 minutes.

I finished up whatever I was doing (it couldn't have been important, because I can't remember it), brushed my hair, put on a jacket, and headed out. As I walked out the front door, I realized that I was going to have to apologize for the state of my home -- definitely NOT company-ready. Not "hurricane just went through" bad, but not anything to be proud of, either.

I picked up Yumi at the airport -- it was great to see her, having been about 8 months since I'd seen her last, and we chatted animatedly on the way home.

A quick aside:

8 months ago, when Yumi was visiting, she came with me to the radio station where I did a weekly show, with the idea that she'd be on with me for the last half hour, and I'd interview her about her peace work (she runs JUMP, Japan United for Ministries of Peace). In the hour and a half she waited, she cleaned up and organized a room-sized discard pile of clothing, books, furniture and other miscellany, while watching her children. When I mentioned this to an American friend who teaches many Japanese children and so knows their families, my American friend said that this was cultural, "they're pretty much all like that". (Sorry if this is a stereotype, but it's what my friend said.) So I was pretty chagrined to show Yumi the state of my home.

As I turned the key in the front door to let us in, I apologized for the state of my home. When we walked inside, Yumi said, "Oh, it's not so bad," and admitted to having a bit of a clutter problem at home. Of course, she had just finished hosting an international peace conference, not to mention the 9/11 truth lecturing she does, and the running (with her husband) of an organic farm. She'd been busy, but she said that now she was ready to clear her clutter, based on a feng shui book by Karen Kingston, "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui". I remembered that a friend had feng shuied her home (the whole 9 yards, painting different rooms different colors, etc.) to very positive effect, and said that I should do the same thing. That was the whole conversation (or at least all I can remember).

Then, earlier this week, I found the following email in my "In" box:

How are you?

It is like a dream I stayed one night with you the other day. Thank
you very much for your unchanged friendship which I appreciate very
much.

I have read a book called Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui. by Karen
Kingston.

This book is fascinating and I started cleaning my desk to start with.
My house is full of clutter from her point of view.


Clutter by Karen:

1 Things you do not use anymore or you do not like anymore

2 Untidy things

3 too many things pushed into a small space

4 all the unfinished work!

According to what she says, what I have in the house is almost all
clutter and I need to clean them so that I have a better and more
effective result from my work/life, creating world peace.

I wonder if we can do this together.

I mean, I am lazy and easy to give in, so I want a company to do this
together.
Would you like to do this with me?


lease read the book if you feel like and let me know. I thought you
would be ideal as you already have some knowledge about Feng Shui.

Peace starts within me and around me.
I want my house to be beautiful and peaceful.

Yumi

I really like those last 2 lines. Peace starts in me and around me. I want my house to be beautiful and peaceful.

So we start!