Spaces

This morning as I sat in my meditation space, I thought how easily I slide right into gratitude the moment I sit down there.  This afternoon sitting in my office at church, I thought how much I have enjoyed that space.  Three years ago when the movers brought my boxes of books in to unload them, one of the workmen said, “It is like they made this office just for you.”  That warmed my heart, though several pastors had occupied it before I did. But it always has felt like a special place to me.

I will be giving up both those spots in October when we move south, splitting time between Maryland and Tennessee.  There I will have new spaces to make my own.  “Nester” that I am, I look forward to creating new “nests,” that anticipation reducing to some degree the pain of leaving these spaces I have developed such a love for.

“Spending time in a space that makes you happy, can have a profound impact on your attitude and wellbeing,” Ali Levin writes. And Lauren Jo Home reflects, “The space you live in, and the things you surround yourself with, directly influence your life.”  How true!  My first job out of graduate school was in a children’s guidance center which had outpatient, day treatment and inpatient.  The walls were white, the carpet a dark charcoal color, reflecting a philosophy that a neutral palate was calming to people undergoing treatment.  Traditionally, hospitals and mental health facilities were white or pale green.  Thankfully in the last several decades, facilities have embraced color, artwork on the walls, music, colorful scrubs for staff. 

Given my change in circumstance, I embrace this stance promoted by Elizabeth Gilbert: “I’m making space for the unknown future to fill up my life with yet-to-come surprises.”

May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate

Hope’s Café Bonus: The 13^th century poet Rumi said that “Life is a balance of holding on and letting go.”  That is my intention in the months ahead:  to hold on to all the ways I have grown, the relationships I have made, and the memories I carry with me; embracing the adventure ahead, reconnecting with family and friends we left behind three years ago when we boldly headed to the unknown in Montana.   Endeavoring to let go of the angst about leaving a place and people I have come to love so much, I seek to live by the tag line I put on my blog when I set it up four years ago: “practicing hope, balancing life.”  Not a bad mantra! 😊