Editing....Personally, I actually hate editing. It's annoying to go back and find all the mistakes I made...but it must be done. It's a funny thought but it made me think about editing my own life.
Recently I traveled back to my moms house for my sister and I to begin clearing away some of moms things.
We wanted to do it respectfully and preserve moms dignity. We worked thru the days going thru her things that we carefully chose what to donate, what to preserve and what pieces to keep, that kept her close to our hearts.
We came across things that were easy to send to donation, others we just couldn't let go of, so they were put carefully away for later when we could do more. However, there was a special group, things that were precious, that we would carry with us, as we go forward without her.
That special group is what made me think of editing my own life. I came home and I was exhausted to be honest. I can't lie to you, doing that job is very taxing. I was worn out. There was so much for me to do when I got home but I didn't do it. I canceled what I could, I didn't start the shop back up, I had to take the puppies for their shots, so I did that and I cleared out clutter from my bedroom, then I went to sleep for a few days. Now, years ago I would've thought that was a ridiculous thing to do, but it was actually necessary. I needed to take a little down time and to give myself permission to do it.
As I rested, I thought about all the things we just went thru, how much of it was really important? How the precious things were not of any monetary value but of great value to us personally. How my mom had lived an amazing adventurous life, and how grateful I am that my dad, brother, sister, and I got to be a part of that life. How our inheritance of experience, joy, love, wisdom, spirituality is more precious than anything available to us in a material way. And am I keeping my life in that same track?
So..... I reassessed, what areas of my life do I need to edit? Really, we're all a work in progress so we always need to stop now and then and adjust. While I was resting, was a good time for me to consider what needed to be done. I realized that I had allowed my life to get cluttered and weighed down again, so I made a plan. (I really like plans) It's similar to how we cleared out moms things. If it's necessary, it stays, If it's not necessary and it brings me joy, it stays, if it's not necessary and it weighs me down, or brings no joy then it goes. Really it's a simple 3 part rule that's easy to apply to anything in life.
I'm starting with unnecessary clutter, in my house, in my business, in my schedule and in my head.
The next part is to stay focused on what brings me joy and peace, not letting things distract me. Which means you'll be seeing more beautiful places here in our beautiful high desert! You'll be seeing more art, more gardens and more natural skincare products and gift baskets!
On a final note this week, I had to share this great picture(I think it's around 1979-80) of me, (I'm the one in the big white hat) My brother, ( he's in the big brown hat) and my sister ( she's in the little brown hat) so happy just sitting in the back of a friends pick up truck beside our house in Colorado. Behind us the building you see was the Slate Creek bar, it was deserted and falling down. Slate Creek was a ghost town by the time we lived there. (we owned half of the town and the nearby rancher owned the other half)
As we were cleaning out moms upholstery shop, this picture fell out of a little pile of fabric in a bag. It made me smile and it swelled my heart because it reminded me of how much we were loved. Mom had little pictures like this stashed all over the place, in a pile of fabric or a box of cords, all sorts of places. I know that's the way I want to be remembered, that you loved your family with all your heart and your priorities were their well being.
For now as I finish getting my work shop ready I'll be keeping the store on hiatus. It shouldn't take too long before I'm filling the store up again with delightful things! Stay tuned!