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Dear TSJ Friends,
Greetings to one and all! I wonder (as I write to you) how your week is going. I always hope something about mine will stir up something useful for you in your week.
So this week I have been excitedly planning for our new gas fireplace to be installed.
As you can see from the picture, it is certainly a fireplace in process. And the mess reminds me of so many things in life – both internally and experientially.
However, magnificent creations often come out of magnificent messes – even chaos. Creation is always a process.
And it usually takes longer and presents more challenges than we had hoped. This little fireplace is no exception. I had hoped to show you a finished picture. A warm flame of success. But that is not meant to be today. I had hoped to watch the news with John next to a fireplace. Nope. More complicated than planned. But it is in process. And there will be a warm fireplace at TSJ headquarters for many a chat with family and friends in the near future. We all planned well. The men worked hard all day. That is important and only the first part of any creation.
Let’s face it .. life offers both times of chaos and times of calm. There are times of helplessness and times of hope.Times of harmony and times of disharmony.
Planning ahead (like my last week’s blog about scouting out where restrooms are located before they are absolutely necessary) is part of good self-care.
Of course one cannot always plan ahead, and certainly not for every eventuality.
Sometimes I have even discovered that planning for eventualities can become a preoccupation – a formula for anxiety and sleep loss – rather than living life freely and taking reasonable risks in good faith that things will work out.
Still, we humans do have the ability to plan ahead and is an important self-care strategy.
Sometimes it seemingly comes naturally with seasons of the year, or with women who strongly experience a “nesting instinct” when preparing for their baby’s arrival.
I notice that each fall I experience a sort of nesting instinct. In some respects we all do. We have leaves to rake up, gutters to clean, furnaces to check, snowblowers to fill with gas and winter tires to be mounted. And the winter wear is brought out of the closets too. Such is part of being prepared for the first snows and short days.
I think I have a bad case of “preparation virus” lately. It seems to be affecting me both in ways mentioned above and in self examination. Maybe it is a sort of spiritual preparation to try new things in my life.
For me these periods of change are often preceded by cleaning my house or rearranging something. I did this in college when I was supposed to study for exams or write a big paper. It is procrastination to be sure, but I felt calmer and more able to tackle the unknown when my external surroundings were in order.
This week my heart, mind and soul seem to be engaged in a sorting out process. And sorting and cleaning is almost always chaotic or at least messy (which makes me feel chaotic inside). My thoughts get all tangled up sometimes. In fact pictures of tangled neurons floated through my mind when John and I went to the marina on Monday to prepare the boat for winter.
The sailboat had been moved from its dock onto its trailer where it sat in the wind and rain. It filled with leaves and pine needles while awaiting our attention. The halliards and stays were quite tangled from the move and the winds. John carefully sorted and untangled each line and tied them securely. I cleaned out leaves and pine needles. It is now covered with tarps tied down with taut cords and knots. She looked great. It was satisfying.
I wish it were as simple to untangle our thoughts and self-destructive habits as it is to untangle the sailboat lines.
But as I watched John do that, I saw focus, patience. preparation and process – all come together.
And today as I have watched our workmen carefully measure, remeasure, figure out challenges that were unanticipated and persist with patience and good humor, I have been reminded …. all creative work involves preparation, patience, flexibility and vision.
Why should spiritual and psychological work be any different? Today’s examples of preparing for winter are simply visible, tangible expressions of the inner workings of our minds, bodies, hearts and souls. Yes, spiritual journeys also require preparation for upcoming eventualities and most of all – patience with ourselves. 
Solomon says to remember it is always best to include play in your creative work. So the fireplace guys got some good cookies! And big smiles. Stay tuned. Keep the faith. And enjoy the process as much as possible!
We too are in process and Solomon says our Chief Shepherd always believes in us. So let’s play with fresh ideas together and encourage one another!
Margie and Solomon
