Well, Spring is springing no matter how you slice it. What do the longer days inspire in you?

I suppose you may live somewhere that’s still covered in snow, but here in the Bay Area it’s nothing but sunshine. The hills are green, plants are starting to bloom, and new growth is popping up everywhere.

Perhaps because it’s time to pull weeds, the urge to edit is upon us. Nothing screams CLEAN HOUSE louder than the word springtime! Conquering clutter is a constant conundrum. The change in the seasons reveals entropy at its roots.

Everyone knows their comfort zone along the line of the clutter-continuum. From friends of mine who inhabit literal junkyards to those folks who live in the Mies van der Rohe mansions you see in the magazines that are so spare and minimal that a stray speck of glitter would be a glaring intrusion, we all settle into our own comfort level when it comes to our “stuff”.

I remember seeing a coffee table book where the photographer took typical families from around the world and had them array all of their belongings in front of their dwellings for a photo shoot. Suburban American families looked tiny against the sea of stuff they owned, while the Tibetans fit their worldly possessions on a blanket before them.

World events remind us that it is all ephemeral. My heart goes out to the Ukrainians right now who are on the run with whatever they can carry and nothing more. Here in California whole neighborhoods can vanish a puff of smoke, so it’s wise to be mindful of the whereabouts of your most important items just in case.

A sudden surfeit of stuff is a special sort of scenario. The illuminating thing about inheriting someone else’s belongings is that you see firsthand what really matters and what doesn’t. For me, it always comes back to the mantra: “Use it; Love it; or Lose it.”

Some stuff might be totally useless but you love it so much it’s worth toting around for generations anyway. Other stuff might seem useful, but when you really think about it you haven’t actually used it in years.

And then there is ephemera, a personal proclivity of mine. It seems that every time I’ve been in the thick of a cultural movement throughout my life, I’ve gathered a considerable amount of aesthetic artifacts, primarily on paper.

Flyers and stickers from the Rave Days of the early 90s. Posters from Survival Research Laboratories shows I worked on in the 80’s. Photos from every stage of my life, (especially prior to cell phones!).

Oddly enough, my just-turned-14-year-old kid has decided that all things Punk or Industrial are cool, so a fair amount of my old dusty boxes are getting turned into wallpaper for her room. It begs the question, if her generation is embracing the Punk Rock of the 80s, does this mean we’re due for a 90s Rave Revival pretty soon?

Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks dance music is a great soundtrack for battling entropy. One of my regular listeners claims my music is what finally motivated her to tackle her room. Try it sometime, I’m mixing a dance set from my vinyl collection from noon to two (pst) most every Wednesday, (as well as my eclectic radio-style show every Saturday night from 8-11).

As these days of Spring lengthen before you, move your body, let the sun shine in, and invite the cool spring breeze to air you out. It’s a great time to reevaluate, release, and let go of that which may not serve you anymore. And if you truly love it, maybe it’s time to rearrange and give it a new place of honor!

Yours in motion, much love till next week!

M+

Mark Metz
Director of the Dance First Association
Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine