Title of Tip: Clear Your Mind
Name: Brenda Johnson, 52
Description: I’m good at cleaning; I think best when cleaning. When you are cleaning, you are focused on nothing but doing it, and many positive thoughts come through your mind. It’s not really the act of cleaning itself; it just gives you something to focus on. If you have negativity in your life, sitting around and stewing on it will make your day bad. It could make your week bad. Cleaning is a meditation that helps you talk to God. Giving him all your problems takes the stress out of you.
Instructions: Cleaning gives you something to do with idle time. Always talk to God while you are cleaning. First, put hot water inside a bucket, add your soap, and then dip a scrubbing rag. Then start cleaning whatever is dirty. You just have to start; the rest will follow. Once you start, you won’t stop until it’s done. You will always find satisfaction when you take something dirty, clean it up, and make it nice. It doesn’t matter where you live if you have a nice or not-so-nice house. You could live under a bridge, but keeping it clean makes you feel good about yourself.
Learning: I’ve cleaned my whole life. It’s just part of who I am. When I was very young, I started cleaning for my mom because it made her happy to have a clean house. She would gripe if the house were dirty, so I would clean it all up from one end to another and say, “Mommy, the house is clean. Come home now from Grandma’s.” So that’s how I started cleaning when I was little and just kept doing it. I’m OCD.
Story: I try to focus on positive thoughts because when I focus on negativity, it doesn’t do me any good, and it makes me depressed. I have a full plate and am trying to deal with it in a positive way. I’ve been going through a lot of depression. This ain’t my first rodeo. I’ve been through this a million times: I have 13 numbers in prison for possession of drugs, and I never learned my lesson. I’m tired of living that way. All money ain’t good money. And I’m going through a divorce. I found out Friday that my husband is in the hospital; his leukemia has gotten worse, and he might not make it. He has been so terrible to me for the last year that I’ve been locked up, bullying me, sending me hateful text messages. It brings me down. I almost want to say I don’t care, but I do care. I’ve always been there for him. But I can’t be there for him now. I have to stay focused on trying to better myself so I never have to go through this again. My mom has stage four lung cancer, and she’s hanging in there for me. I talk to her daily on the phone, and she helps me get through it. But I can’t see life without her. When I was in prison, I would clean. I would not focus on anything else to take my mind off everything; I just focused on what I was cleaning. It made the time go by, and it made me feel good about myself because I cleaned my area or an area nobody else would clean. It puts your mind at ease and gives you something to focus on besides your problems.