Dear Ms. Theologian,I have several pictures of my family, a ceramic paperweight my daughter made me, my sacred stone, a candle, and a plant on my desk. My boss has complained to me about all my doo-dads and wants me to clear my desk. What do I do?

Dear Anonymous:

This is Ms. Theologian’s desk. She has far more on the mere windowsill than you describe on your entire desk. Ms. Theologian thinks your boss has way too much time on her hands.

If you really want to remove doo-dads, you could categorize your doo-dads by symbolic value and remove one from each category.

For example,

plant — symbol of nature or the outdoors
sacred stone — possibly also symbol of nature

family photos — symbol of love from family
ceramic paperweight — possibly also a symbol of love from family

candle — symbol of pyromaniacal tendencies….

You get the picture.

Ms. Theologian wants to know why your boss cares. Is there a bigger issue?
–Ms. Theologian