Isolation

I have been feeling pretty isolated lately, and pretty dry creatively.  These are not good feelings for anyone, and certainly not for me.  I know much of the reason is that the house takes up all of my free time, and most of my creativity right now.  And, we have had 2 snowstorms in the last week - everyone is probably feeling a little isolated.  Also, disarray calls out to the opposite of my better self - it calls out to the lazy slug in me...and sometimes I answer.

So, how do I stop feeling isolated?  I was given 4 opportunities this weekend...and I took all of them.

1.  I went to my yoga class.  I really love the way I feel after yoga, but it was hard for me to stop working on the house and drive to class.  I'm glad I did, because I came back in a great mood and REALLY able to stretch and bend and work on my art room.

2. I went to my first baby shower.  My friend Sasha is having her 2nd baby, and I celebrated with her and her friends and family.  Because I have lived such a different life style, I've never been around my friends when they were having showers, and it was fun to watch Sasha be the center of attention and receive so much love from people.

3.  I went to church, early, and talked to people.  I seldom miss Sunday morning service, but I usually show up in time for worship to start.  Today I was 30 minutes early, and got to really talk to 2 people I seldom have time to talk with.

4.  I welcomed someone into my mess.  I got a text on Saturday from a friend who hadn't seen our house yet.  Now, I always say that I love people to drop by and surprise me.  This was definitely a test for that, because our house was a MESS!   Not just a mess because my art room was emptied out into our dining room and living room, but dishes were unwashed, counters uncleaned, bed unmade, clothes on the floor.  I looked around, knew I wasn't going to have time to pick up a single thing, and welcomed her to come into our mess.  You know what, she THANKED me.  She didn't just thank me for showing her the house, she thanked me for letting her drop by and walk into the mess.

So, I'm feeling better today.  I'm excited about the work that's gotten done on the house, I feel like I'm part of the community, and I'm going away to a 3 day conference on Wednesday.  It'll be a 5 hour road trip with someone I'm looking forward to knowing a little better, and 3 days talking about Creative Arts Ministry.

Sometimes the answer is just a 2 degree shift away.

KTV