When Life Moves the Furniture
Within the unfamiliar lies great fear and opportunity.
“There must be a union between the spirit in wood and the spirit in man. The grain of the wood must relate closely to its function... Cordial and receptive, it should invite a meeting with man.” — George Nakashima
Life just moved the furniture on me.
Everything looks new and unfamiliar.
I must change and yet stay the same.
I am not publishing my writing and illustrating at the level I once was. They are both still there, humming along each day, but the sharing and engaging part has grown more difficult. A new season has begun.
My morning ritual is changing by necessity to accommodate the equivalent of a new sofa. To fit it in, other furniture must be rearranged or removed entirely. Life is funny like that. You wake up one morning, and things are just... different.
Sometimes the change is exciting. Sometimes it is frightening. But one thing is for sure: change is necessary for me to be at my best. When the furniture moves, I am challenged to adapt. Each time I grow in confidence and skill.
Sometimes change is a gift. And sometimes it is a heartrending loss. Both are sourced from a place of abundance. This recent change is a gift seasoned with loss. I feel blessed and grateful for both. Whether gift or loss, I must adapt all the same.
One thing must continue without interruption: my writing and illustrating. They are both an integral part of how I process the world around me. They are thinking, understanding and creating all wrapped into one... inseparable.
Although my sharing and engaging will suffer in this new season, I will still fight for every scrap I can get. For what is creation without sharing? And who am I without the beautiful minds of fellow travelers from whom I receive nourishment?
The seasons change. Life rearranges the furniture in interesting, unexpected ways. I must change with them and yet stay the same.
🤔 Food for Thought:
Is life moving the furniture on you?
Do you fight it or adapt?
⚙️ One Small Step:
We become so easily set in our ways. In the very heart of our comfort and safety, change shakes the very foundation of our reality. When life forces a change, see it not as a cataclysmic event but as an opportunity to adapt... to evolve.