I painted my living room yesterday. It has taken over 6 hours from beginning to end. At first, I struggled around all the furniture, convinced I couldn’t make more room for myself to move. After bumping into things repeatedly, getting cramps in my body from the contortions, and frustrating myself to no end, I finally decided to take the time to make more room.
Creating space in this small dwelling wasn’t easy, but I found it possible once I set the intention and expended the energy. Once the space was cleared enough for me to be able to move about, I could begin the important work of prepping the area for painting. The prep work took most of the 6 hours. Cleaning the walls, taping the woodwork, and cutting in the paint were the time consumers. Rolling on the paint to make the walls beautiful took about an hour.
While rolling the paint (my favorite part), I thought how analogous to life this process is. The prep always takes the longest, and how we prep is of utmost importance in terms of what we create in the end. Had I not taken the time to clear out the room first, the process would have taken more hours and produced more bruises and frustrations.
I think of spiritual practices as the prep work for creating a beautiful life. If we set the intention and clear the space, the prep work can become a joy all its own; then we will be amazed at how quickly and easily the beautiful unfolds.
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You are absolutely right about the prep work. It really does apply to life and if we want things to work well we have to prepare and clear the path. This is what I have been doing for the past few weeks and it is frustrating, but there has been many blessings in this prep work as well.
I have found “prepping” is necessary in every area of your life. I remember not to long ago when I had to paint all rooms of our three level home . . . I cried through most of it – it was the “kilting” of three rooms that almost killed me. Great insight Carla.
What a wonderful metaphor. It’s both the clearing..and the prepping that makes room and space for growth. Beautifully written!