As I type this, my entire house is a complete mess. Anybody else been there? You decide to make a few decorating changes, and the next thing you know your home looks like a war zone. I recently decided I wanted a new couch, but once I got it home my other living room furniture did not mesh with it. What’s a girl to do? I decided to shop the house for other items, and now I’m dizzy from moving furniture from room to room to try and make things work. Does anyone out there feel my pain??? A simple décor change has resulted in an entire home makeover, and I can’t wait for my house to become normal again.
We have all heard the saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” This phrase is meant to remind us that it takes time to create things of great worth. In fact, it takes time, patience, and hard work. It doesn’t matter whether you’re starting a business, acquiring a new skill, learning a new language or writing a book. All of these take time and do not happen overnight, and this can be challenging in a culture where results are expected immediately. We want to see that stenciled wall completed now, or the bookcase repainted now, or the new artwork framed now. But these things take time, and we must understand that when taking on new decorating projects. It is not good to stress about it, because you should enjoy the process of making your home beautiful.
I am preaching to the choir here, because I can be the worst offender of the “I want it now” mentality. When I get started on a new project, I often become obsessed with it. By the time the project’s complete, my eyes are bloodshot and I’m jittery from lack of sleep because I can’t rest until it’s done. But this year I’ve been learning to be less of a control freak and let some things go, and I am a happier person because of it. It’s not easy being a perfectionist, and I’m not really good at it anyway, so I have decided to give it up. I’m learning to take my time to enjoy working on my projects instead of rushing to complete them quickly. When I wake up each morning, I decide which of my projects to work on that day, and some days I just decide to start a new one. It really does not matter, because what’s important is for me to enjoy the process.
Letting go does not happen overnight, and it’s taking a lot of prayer and deep breathing exercises to keep me from staying up until 3am until I get my house back into order, but I am improving every day. I’m learning to accept things as they are, and to not rush through life without living in the moment. I haven’t had artwork on my living room walls for over a month, I have two couches sitting randomly in my living room, my bookcase is empty, and guess what? It’s OK, because I know it will all come together eventually. It may happen next week, or maybe even next month, but in the end it will be worth it since I’m taking my time to make it right.
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