I do not have OCD (stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). I think it is generally an over-used term, but I am as guilty of that as anyone in describing things I do. There is a crucial difference between what I do and what Obsessive-Compulsives feel compelled to do. I perform ritualistic checks to check myself to be sure I don’t slip into that territory. What I do, I do by choice, by preference, and by desire, and I feel no serious anxiety if I do not do them.

<<Step into my stream of consciousness. You might want to wear your waders. You’ve been warned.>>

Let’s start at the big picture. If this starts too big, just smile and nod, but it is important to know where I’m coming from to understand the more acute manifestations

Everything that *is* is continuous, connected, and related. Any change is a ripple across the pond. Nothing is unaffected by anything else, it is only a matter of perspective and discernment that dictates how we measure the relative impact for personal significance.

Everything is in a continual flux, an ebb and flow, and a constant exchange. In short, the only thing that is static is change.

As everything moves in concert, patterns are created and rearranged continuously. Consider the sand on a beach. The oceans shift on massive scale under the effect of the movement of the moon. As the waves (relatively small pattern in the massive movement) move the sand on the beach, it is organized and reorganized into rippling patterns. These are consistent but ever changing and always unique. The pattern is always formed, though. Always.

We are a part of this movement. Within our physical body is our physical mind, which borders on the ethereal. The mind is still very much in the physical world, though, and still flows with the patterns of the rest of physical existence.

The things we surround ourselves with are not products of nature directly, but creations of our mind. They are products, by-products, and constructs that we use to allow our mind to process the day-to-day, to create consistency. These things range from something as simple and immediate as our kitchen table, to as far-reaching and cooperative as culture and society.

Consider the things you count as your own. I will assume you believe in possession, it’s easier that way, and perhaps a safe bet with many. So consider the things you own. Take your place of shelter, your house, apartment, condo, estate, car, or cardboard box. Within that space you keep your “stuff” (if you don’t hear George Carlin saying that word, I highly recommend you YouTube “George Carlin Stuff” now).

So, recall. The moon moves the oceans which creates tides and waves, which in turn leave patterns in the sand, which we then observe with our eyes, and the pattern propagates through our mind and into our body and our life. A snippet of a long-reaching flow.

Your space is organized by your mind, as it is manipulated by your physical body.  The manner in which you keep your *stuff* is a product of the ebb and flow of your mind.

I look for the patterns. I recognize patterns, in the world, and in people. Patterns of the mind are a hobby of mine. Not the least of my subjects is, naturally, myself.

The thing I have come to appreciate is that the flow is never in one direction. The patterns you create are products of your mind *BUT* the patterns you create and surround yourself with have a resulting wash on your mind, and everything connected to your mind. Yes. Backtrack, your mind is connected to EVERYTHING. Of course, for personal import, it is sufficient to stop at your mind for initial consideration.

The manner in which you keep your space sets a pattern in your mind and in your very being.

I see patterns. I create patterns. I organize the things I keep around me to match the patterns of my mind. Creating conscious order feeds a harmony to my consciousness. Ordering the things I deal with into these patterns (or close to them) sings, tones, harmonies.

I do not put the glasses in an ordered matrix in the cupboard because I need to have it that way or I feel bad. I put them that way because it feels harmonious. I trace patterns in the sand that dance with the waves, and I become in tune with the moon.

What do you feed your mind with the spaces you inhabit?