Stopped me in my tracks.
Too messy...so much wisdom in two little words. A very old pattern of one's mind is not that easy to change or transform, but if you don't let go of some of the clutter, your own life will become as complicated as others' may be (depending on the intake of information you allow) and yes, that could become entirely too messy.
And after a lifetime of dealing with other people's messes in one form or another (especially and including my own, circa 1946) my mind has begun fluttering away from troublesome conversations, like a butterfly unwilling to be kept prisoner by words that evoke anger or that feeling of helpless frustration when the Mobius Strip Merry-Go-Round of Insoluble Problems starts up again.
In the words of jazz great Michael Franks, "When you meet someone who inspires your worst angry voice, just retreat ~ happiness is always a much better choice..."
So when I hear words that evoke images and feelings of things I no longer want around, I have no choice but to retreat, keeping my own space neat, clean and as free of other people's stuff as possible.
(Thanks for the wisdom, DVS.)
