In staying true to my promise of updating my blog regularly, I have decided this week to deviate from my intended crafty topic to tell a story of two friends who went to dinner together this evening. A long-time co-worker emailed me last week to tell me that she is leaving her current position to pursue the unknown. I immediately suggested dinner! First, I had to make sure that there were no unfortunate events leading up to this major life change, and second, I had to make sure that we had at least one last huzzah as co-workers.
We had a fabulous time, an amazing dinner and inspiring conversation. While I could talk about the part of our conversation involving her decision to make this major change in her life, I will refrain, for that is her story to tell. Instead, I will talk about another topic of our conversation...that of purging unnecessary items from one's surroundings with the intent of decluttering. It turns out that my co-worker and I have both been on this journey lately. My own motivation has been to make more room in my house. About ten years ago, I purchased a small house that I have always considered large enough for me but too small to share with a partner. I always envisioned that I would outgrow my house within a few years (i.e., meet someone to share my life with and then have the two of us venture off to find a house to share together). Ten years later, I still have not "outgrown" my house.
I realized recently the error in this perspective (as well as the short-comings of my budget). The truth is that I don't have enough money to go purchase another, larger house without some serious planning (not to mention time and luck) involved. And to expect that I will meet someone who is in this financial position themselves, while not out of the question completely, is probably not likely (especially since wealth in a significant other is not at the top of my gotta-have list). At any rate, I don't want this to be my focus. So I instead decided to work on shifting my perspective and making room for another person and his things in my current house. I have donated and thrown out, sorted and organized. So far, I have made some significant progress but I still have a ways to go. There's more to throw out and to donate and to release into the world because it no longer serves me. My friend has been doing a similar thing lately, although her motivation is primarily to prepare herself to live a more simple life while she is in transition.
From here, our conversation turned to gifts that will be given to us during the up-coming holidays and the fear that we will get things that we don't need or won't use. I told my friend that years ago, I began buying my mother edible gifts to ensure that she would not get yet another item to take up space and gather dust in her house. Unfortunately, this practice backfired on me. My mother now has a notable collection of unique jams, marinades, and teas that she has had for ages and barely uses. Last year while visiting, I found some tea that I had purchased for her as a gift during my trip to Germany in the summer of...wait for it...1993. The same type of thing has occurred with the variety of jams and other tasty gifts that I have given to her over the years. My mother once described to me how several times a year she would have a little taste of one jam or another, and promptly close the jar and put it back into the refrigerator to save the rest for a later date. As I explained this all to my dinner companion this evening, she commented that one must "Live life!" to which I replied as if addressing my mother directly, "Embrace the jam! Spread it on your toast generously and enjoy it! Eat it by the large spoonful and not by the tiniest of nibbles!" We both laughed at this, and at that moment I concluded that I must make this my mantra. From now on, I will "embrace the jam."
In my own struggle with materialism, I have concluded that things are made to be enjoyed. I purchased a piece of fabric or a skein of yarn because I anticipated the joy and inspiration that working with it would bring me. To leave it untouched is to deprive myself of the enjoyment gained through the creative experience of working with that item and to leave the full potential of that item unrealized. Every crafter or artist has something that they coveted but are afraid to do much more with than admire. My suggestion is to embrace the jam, consume life with a vivacious passion that inspires and fulfills you. Make that first cut, that first seam, that first stitch, that first brush stroke. For this is where life is truly lived...not in the endless contemplating but in the doing, in the creating, in the transforming.
As much as I will miss my co-worker, she is doing just this. I am certain that her talents will take her to new heights that she hasn't even dreamed of yet. She will accomplish great things. I admire her courage to follow her heart and her strength to step out into the unknown. Whether she realizes it or not, she is an inspiration to me.
We had a fabulous time, an amazing dinner and inspiring conversation. While I could talk about the part of our conversation involving her decision to make this major change in her life, I will refrain, for that is her story to tell. Instead, I will talk about another topic of our conversation...that of purging unnecessary items from one's surroundings with the intent of decluttering. It turns out that my co-worker and I have both been on this journey lately. My own motivation has been to make more room in my house. About ten years ago, I purchased a small house that I have always considered large enough for me but too small to share with a partner. I always envisioned that I would outgrow my house within a few years (i.e., meet someone to share my life with and then have the two of us venture off to find a house to share together). Ten years later, I still have not "outgrown" my house.
I realized recently the error in this perspective (as well as the short-comings of my budget). The truth is that I don't have enough money to go purchase another, larger house without some serious planning (not to mention time and luck) involved. And to expect that I will meet someone who is in this financial position themselves, while not out of the question completely, is probably not likely (especially since wealth in a significant other is not at the top of my gotta-have list). At any rate, I don't want this to be my focus. So I instead decided to work on shifting my perspective and making room for another person and his things in my current house. I have donated and thrown out, sorted and organized. So far, I have made some significant progress but I still have a ways to go. There's more to throw out and to donate and to release into the world because it no longer serves me. My friend has been doing a similar thing lately, although her motivation is primarily to prepare herself to live a more simple life while she is in transition.
From here, our conversation turned to gifts that will be given to us during the up-coming holidays and the fear that we will get things that we don't need or won't use. I told my friend that years ago, I began buying my mother edible gifts to ensure that she would not get yet another item to take up space and gather dust in her house. Unfortunately, this practice backfired on me. My mother now has a notable collection of unique jams, marinades, and teas that she has had for ages and barely uses. Last year while visiting, I found some tea that I had purchased for her as a gift during my trip to Germany in the summer of...wait for it...1993. The same type of thing has occurred with the variety of jams and other tasty gifts that I have given to her over the years. My mother once described to me how several times a year she would have a little taste of one jam or another, and promptly close the jar and put it back into the refrigerator to save the rest for a later date. As I explained this all to my dinner companion this evening, she commented that one must "Live life!" to which I replied as if addressing my mother directly, "Embrace the jam! Spread it on your toast generously and enjoy it! Eat it by the large spoonful and not by the tiniest of nibbles!" We both laughed at this, and at that moment I concluded that I must make this my mantra. From now on, I will "embrace the jam."
In my own struggle with materialism, I have concluded that things are made to be enjoyed. I purchased a piece of fabric or a skein of yarn because I anticipated the joy and inspiration that working with it would bring me. To leave it untouched is to deprive myself of the enjoyment gained through the creative experience of working with that item and to leave the full potential of that item unrealized. Every crafter or artist has something that they coveted but are afraid to do much more with than admire. My suggestion is to embrace the jam, consume life with a vivacious passion that inspires and fulfills you. Make that first cut, that first seam, that first stitch, that first brush stroke. For this is where life is truly lived...not in the endless contemplating but in the doing, in the creating, in the transforming.
As much as I will miss my co-worker, she is doing just this. I am certain that her talents will take her to new heights that she hasn't even dreamed of yet. She will accomplish great things. I admire her courage to follow her heart and her strength to step out into the unknown. Whether she realizes it or not, she is an inspiration to me.
Beautiful sentiment! Let's all "embrace the jam" :)
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