Cleaning House
Like many of us, there have been some major changes in my life over the last few years. Some of those changes have been obvious, and others more subtle
On a more superficial level, I totally refreshed my New York apartment. so that it has a minimal loft like feel- even though it is a traditional apartment. This process involved doing a much needed paint job, refinishing all the floors, re-arranging furniture, and banishing almost all artwork to storage. There are still pieces of art in every room, but much fewer- and instead of anything hanging on the wall, I leaned a few pieces of art against the wall in every room. So if I decide to move things around, I can do it easily. I also used a new color palette of different shades of brown; and I made it more interesting by having two walls in each room the brown, two walls off white. The result is enough color to be interesting but a very bright, clean, and renewed feel. The newness and change both wakes me up and soothes me when I come home, which is exactly the effect I was looking for.
On a more personal note, I ended a five year relationship in the last two years too, and the termination of this relationship involved lots of cleansing too, this time more internal than apparent. This has been a very interesting process indeed, and experiencing the new playing field of dating since 2009 has been a revelation.
At the same time as these things were going on, I found my friendships were impacted in a major way as well. You don’t have to be uber-conscious to know that for many people the last few years have seen incredible volatility in the job, housing, and financial markets. These have been times of gut wrenching change indeed,; times that really challenge us on so many levels. In my own life, I was able to see how these changes affected some long standing friendships I had. For whatever reason, these last few years have meant the end of quite a few long term friendships. While my initial reaction a few years back would have been to mourn these losses and think them sad, I look at it now in a different light: part of a natural cycle that we might not like on every level, but one we must accept. And even if I don’t now actually speak with these friends, I feel I communicate with them on other levels because they are still in my heart and meditations each day. It is a poignant reminder that the people who pass through our lives are not meant to be here forever- all the more reason to cherish them when they are around.
These changes have cumulatively left me in a very open and optimistic state of mind about the future. I am refreshed and renewed. I believe that anything can happen, and I am certainly open to all the best things the universe has in store. Have a blessed day.
