Happy Everything

If the rule for having a gathering in my home is I wait until everything is ready, life may never happen. You see we’re renovating a 1955 home on three acres and we’ve decided that the adventure part is living in it as we do it.  Never mind that we own another home that is complete, but it made sense in our excitement to simply be where we were working. The excitement of finding #thetackybrownhouse at auction, the dream of downsizing to a simpler life was simply too good to pass up…and I’m not sorry that we gave ourselves permission a few weeks after purchasing her to move in. Of course we had to learn how to deal with a winter without central heat for a few weeks. The reality of a dirt floor in what should have been the washroom presented opportunities to truly know our one station town’s owners for restroom privileges for a few weeks. I re-learned how to cook with the gas grill in winter and that charcoal heated coffee has that special smokey flavor that now has fond memories attached every time we light the barbque.

What are you putting off until you are ready? What experiences are you missing by not being where you are, as you are? This weekend we had friends over for a Happy Everything party. I had dreamed of  #thetackybrownhouse hosting gatherings for families. For bands and authors I work with to perform for house concerts. Never mind that the house is 1500 sft and smallish in room size. Never mind that rains come and outdoor plans have to change. My vision for life at 51 was to have a home where people gathered, where fellowship and music came together. Where families could come and have time with other families. Where laughter and mirth were a regular part of the menu. Were we ready? Heavens no. The siding isn’t done, the kitchen cabinets are temporarily shelving units, the 2nd bathroom still in sheetrock, but a gathering we did have. Not even the downpour at the beginning of the evening stopped the plan once in motion.

Have you ever moved into your dreams long before they were ready? You see for me, visual space matters. What I can see in my mind, what I can physically see, allows me to engage the vision and I almost automatically deconstruct it to make it doable in smaller pieces. I can see it as I want it to be, but also I see it as already a possibility that simply needs time or training to engage. I’m that kind of girl. People talk about the power of putting your goals on paper, and creating vision boards for your goals. It’s not just talk in my life, almost every accomplishment I’ve made started by affirming on paper and on a vision board what it is I desired. The challenge though comes when I cannot give myself permission to be, have, or to do whatever it is that comes next. We live by our beliefs, by the rules we run in our head. Now I don’t know about you, but there are days I simply need to rethink the rules I live by. This life of mine was reared to be very orderly in boundaries, but at times I realize my thinking is arbitrary, is limited in its belief boundaries or simply has gotten complacient about what’s familiar instead of the life that would be fascinating and fun to live.

Saturday night we lived one of my dreams for #thetackybrownhouse. Families gathered. Bands played. Food was plentiful and fellowship was fun. Laughter and joy was shared among perfect strangers and friends alike and we all left a little more full of this thing I call the good life. It was a rewriting of the rules in my head. Nester shared years ago that “it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful” and our home exuded that truth. Friends shared in the joy of the work we’ve done to create home on our little property. Strangers didn’t mind that the siding isn’t done, the house in progress.  They simply moved the living room and came inside when the rains came.

The music, the candlelight, the fellowship meant more and that’s what mattered.  Do you have things that hold you back from trying out your dreams? Living the life you desire? I encourage you to consider what about those dreams are you not allowing yourself? If it’s budget, get creative…the party was simple in decorations from thrift stores….all unnecessary but fun for me to find and connect together!  Having Ariellah and the Band MacClelland was simply a vision come true. The night was magic and the fellowship all that I hoped it would be. They are amazing talents from Nashville and I encourage you to see them where ever they play!

 

The food was simple, but could and will often be in the future a potluck. (did you hear that “often”? That means we’re doing this again and again, for it WAS so much as we dreamed it would be!)  Is it the “no one will come”…that happens, folks get busy, others have work, or simply forget the date or directions. We invite, encourage, and send information on how to arrive, but all in all, folks come and when they don’t, they come next time or not at all…but those who do arrive, who gather, are blessed and enjoy the fun.

Having a band in your living room may not be  your dream, but the permission to do whatever it is that makes your heart happy. That engages in this very day, the present, cultivating a life you want to live is the point. What makes your heart happy today? What can you be today? How do you live so that you’re vision becomes a little more real….today? If permission is needed here it is! My clients often say they need permission to be who they desire to be…early influences from their childhood, perhaps a difficult youth or adult experiences sometimes limits what we believe is possible.

 I encourage folks to consider the permissions in their lives, and engage in giving themselves permission to cultivate their desired days…every day…for this is the day we have! Are you ready? I promise, if it doesn’t turn out the way you thought, you can adjust your vision and try again! After all, when we were little we thought eating candy every day for all meals was the dream, as we mature  and experience life we may learn more options and choices!