Feet up the wall in celebration.
Today, I submitted another assignment in my course Writing and the New Media: Creating Life Histories. It took me days and days to pare it down and then I still had to attach an outline of the workshop I was discussing. Words rarely fail me…but they do threaten to drown me and my readers at times. Le sigh
At one time in my life the précis was a prized skill. What happened?
Oh, I know, life.
We are studying life histories.
It’s hard to condense a life into a few … or even a clean 900 pages. Maybe that’s why so many of us shy away from writing down our stories. First, we don’t know where to start. Then, we don’t think we’ll finish before life itself is finished. Another sigh…
And then I got to be a part of another Oasis gathering. Thanks, Jen Louden! And to all who come together to be so supportive of each other. I do appreciate you.
Today our topic was the cheery subject of “Resignation”. But with all the prompts, I came around to see that resignation can be a good thing — active not passive. A choice to accept what is and say “this too”. Not in a helpless way. Because it is certainly because we have no power to change things. But accepting some things that we cannot change can impel and compel us to find ways around that.
I’ll give you a little ferinstance here:
I have a bedroom that needs painting. It is so ugly it is painful to wake up and see the wall in front of me. Yes, it is.
Today, I decided to resign myself to the fact that I have been avoiding the job. I don’t even have a list of reasons. But I have been procrastinating like a pro. When the time came to write on “If (blank) were never “fixed” then I could try/learn…” that wall jumped into the forefront.
I brainstormed …
I could wall paper the wall behind me
I could paint just the wall I look at when I wake up
I could wallpaper that wall
I could hang a 40 x 50 print from my husband’s next photography show there
I could find an odorless paint and paint the darn thing
None of those ideas had come to me before. Why? Because I was resigned to being a sluggard and facing every new day knowing that because the evidence was staring me in the face.
What I learned from this is that I have to get busy and workshop with folks nearby. I know how to do this. I “invented” Wordscapes. It’s a shame not to share this.
Wish me luck! Or contact me to see what I am talking about.
I’d love to have you in my little circle.
Now that the first snow has fallen…let’s hunker down for the winter and practice some great self-care.
susannasays.com 
What a delightful musing this is! C’est moi aussi, Susanna! My remedy has always been to cover the offending bedroom wall with art prints I love. Very lovely to wake up to, that personal gallery!
There are other, more hideous walls in this place I moved to four years ago, but I no longer even see them. The trouble involved to get them switched up to something more palatable ain’t worth it when I cease to notice anyhow. Nudged by your reflections here, I see that life in general is kind of thus! I mean, susceptible to filtering the lesser bugaboos in the name of peace and simplicity, in the spirit of the Serenity Prayer. Y’know: “Grant me acceptance of the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” And sustained by the criterion, ‘How important is this change to me?’
Others do love/require their immediate surroundings to be tidy, fresh, stylish, and yes, I enjoy the effects. Might I ever repaint these Unfortunate Walls? Maybe; maybe not. Ҫa ne fait rien! Still, apparently, at peace with my sluggardly shrugs!
Thanks for this food for thought!!
Oh Kit, I am loving these insights of yours. I do think I need to paint at least this particular wall. Even if I have to open a window and shiver a bit. It is a small house with small rooms and I think I can manage this wall in a day. That said, I do believe there was some other issue under the wall. But I cannot change much about this house to make it what I wish it to be. Moving at this late stage of the game without a heap of $$$ is never going to feel wonderful. But I can enjoy the paint job. I’m thinking a small paper birch forest. What do you think?
Hugs!