Commentary

Cleaning house

November 5, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

It means more than using a brush and pan; sometimes the meaning is dangerous; other times, it means clearing rubble that can also be emotional.

The problems come when it is time to “clean house,” and that might not happen because one’s attention is being directed away or by simple lethargy… laziness, we could call it.

That main distraction, our very invasive lives online, can persuade us to scroll for information on how best to effectively clean our house, all the while preoccupying the time we need to do the job. And – goodness! We’ve dwindled that time away, and now it is too late, and we have to make dinner.

For a creative person, such a stall can be called writer’s block, a terrible time when the initial prompt for a project gets bogged down and the letters in one’s head desert the fort. A painter is about to dab with colour but hesitates and the moment has passed. The composer realizes that phrase won’t work.

Not only us, but in every breath of any prospective chore comes the shadow risk of being harder to do than thought, subject more easily to the temptation of doing something else. Even washing the dishes is an alluring alternative!

It is a human condition, that and rationalizing our mistakes, made in the past or about to be made in the sooner or later future. I believe one thing that is really strange is that we actually know we are making a mistake before we make it and we do it anyway – that last donut, those expensive shoes that will fit even if they are a bit tight at the moment… leaving the party early.

Getting into the car to drive when one has had too much to drink.

A friend of mine (asked me not to use her name) told me recently about having to drive between Waterloo and Orangeville, a distance of about a hundred kilometres, leaving late in the evening, well after dark. She had been absolutely clear about not drinking any alcohol at all. Even the offer of “just a taste” was politely declined.

“I’m not as laissez-faire about driving at night as I used to be,” she commented, not that she was intimidated by the drive, only that it was somehow more work. The night was clear and pleasant; the road was broad enough but not a highway, and the traffic was as light as such an hour may expect.

The comfort of the white line that identifies the right edge of the road – she made it her unwavering guide and had to be grateful for unimposing weather. Still, the white line and the flow of the white lights of approaching vehicles took on the feeling of a dream once she reached her destination.

My friend was stuck to make the drive, and there was no real burden to it, but it stretched out as a metaphor when I thought about it as similar to those chores that are there to do but seem easy to set aside in favour of so much else.

Cleaning house can mean seeing to how we think about things. How much are attitudes changing and not changing when maybe they should. Meanwhile, we need to decide how we will educate ourselves to understand the changes or maintain our historic standards. It could easily be mainly me who knows yet drags my feet to do. Sometimes the shadows last longer than they ought; sometimes the night is not long enough to rest, but the worries are rightly there, and the planet’s pain is inescapable. Just look – David Suzuki and Tara Cullis have stepped back from their active duties at the David Suzuki Foundation to spend more time with their children and grandchildren.

‘Twas never thus.

The global tangle of shifting humanity and the monster soup that is eight billion opinions; the unwarranted economic chaos – “how much are those apples!?” is affecting everything right here: conversations, real and questionable news. How art is created, and there are our life rafts.

Whatever is difficult in this time and this town, that artistic endeavour and the arts community that covers so much of what happens here is as strong as any in the province and an essential part of Orangeville’s success.

As long as we keep going to the theatres, which are dancing with new tunes and fun ideas, let us continue to attend our fine festivals and events in art galleries, concerts and entertainment on stage.

I hope so much that we will bring our children to theatre camps, dance lessons, and art workshops.

Art tells the stories in any world, sounding the alarms where needed.

And to the mainstay of all the shows and events, thank you for the past and in anticipation of the future for being a volunteer.

Much less would be going on here but for you.

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