Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived . . . Tidiness makes me
think of held breath, of suspended animation . . . Perfectionism is a mean,
frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist's true friend.
What people somehow forgot to mention when we were children
was that we need to make messes in order to
find out who we are and why we are here.
--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird (1994)