Make Change Happen

Make Change Happen...

That has been the message that I have received loud and clear from all corners of the Universe and from right under my nose. Make change happen. MAKE it happen. Not, hang on a little bit, something's coming, looks like a little change... Nope. The message has been MAKE change happen. Not Make Change, like can you give me four quarters for this dollar because I just saw Ms. Pac Man and dammit if I'm not a wiz on that game, and could you watch my kids 'cause I'm probably gonna be on that thing for a while. Nuh-uh. Make change HAPPEN. Not Happenstance. Happen.

That means it's up to me.

Damn.

Not that I couldn't do it alone, but wouldn't it be fun to Make Change Happen with a little help from my friends? And by that I don't mean for you to cheer me on, though I must say, your cheers have been the wind in my sails for the last several months. What I'd really love to see is a whole bunch of change. A whole bunch of people shedding fears or over-committed calendars or dream stealers. I'd love to see a whole bunch of people changing something. I don't mean like returning your calls that day instead of waiting a week. I mean like setting up a regular dinner night with friends you never see. Or picking up an instrument you always wanted to try. Or defying an old myth of not being good at baking.

I think I just gave away my list.

Damn.

So these are sort of promises that I'm making to myself. Nothing huge. I'm tackling the huge things one day at a time. But the little things... those little things that nag at me reminding me that I too easily break promises to myself. I don't like that feeling. That feeling is the crack in the foundation of all the larger changes. And it's these little changes that will bring more joy into my world. Here are my first five:

#1: Practice the guitar every day. Even twenty minutes. I love the little I've learned. Why not keep going? It's sitting right there in the corner. Go on, Shoog... pick at it!

#2: Shoot something EVERY DAY! I am joining a 365 Project. I'm excited to have this commitment with a larger group. I'm even more excited to make myself find something simple or amazing or amazingly simple every single day for a whole year. Whew... I'm getting butterflies just thinking about it!

#3: Tuesday IS Park/Beach Day. No school. No work. No appointments. The Park or the Beach only. I'm sure this seems like a no brainer, but life gets busy and we forget to give ourselves that bit of time to just enjoy life. And then all of a sudden, we're grumpy... the whole lot of us. Because, you know... if Mama's not happy, nobody's happy! This will also help with the next item on my list.

#4 Surf. I can paddle out pretty far. I could probably paddle to Australia. I can get up on a board in the inside waves. All day. No problem. Between paddling out and the inside waves are the waves you see on TV. That's where real surfing happens. Until I'm in that zone regularly, I can only say that I "swim with a board."

#5: Throw stuff away. I know... we should recycle and not leave a massive footprint. The problem is that most of the stuff I hang on to I have rationalized into being useful, but it really is just trash. I don't know if this is something I picked up from my Depression Era Grandma who kept sugar packets in her purse. I'm pretty sure it was. The other day, I had to throw out salt and pepper packets from my purse. I guess I had them "just in case" I ever came across a restaurant that somehow didn't have S&P at the table. ???

Okay, that's about all for now. There will be more. These are my changes for now. I'm going to start by going to the garage and purging some junk from our lives. YAY!

What about changes elsewhere? What one thing do you want to start doing? Throw it out! Public accountability is the best way to keep a promise to yourself. Trust me!

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RePurposing

We Recycle bottles, cans, grocery bags, etc. But more than that, we repurpose! (That's the new B.S. word for recycle.) I take great pride in turning trash to treasure. But now, I have to donate... give away... release... many items that I can no longer find purpose (or space) for.

In my new MUCH smaller home, I have had to Kaizen-ize. I'm making myself nuts trying to find a place for everything, leaning our items down to the necessary and practical. The difficulty is having to let go of the stuff I love.

Like my Thinking Chair.

It has to go. I am sad about the fact that it fits absolutely NO WHERE in our townhome. It's big and wide and deep and comfy. But it really doesn't fit anywhere. I need to let someone else enjoy reading their favorite books wrapped up in a blanket, enveloped in the cushions of that chair.

And my books.

Where am I supposed to put all the books? I could place them throughout the house on shelves, but with such a small space, it would look cluttered and messy. I suppose I could wrap each individual book in matching paper so that it looks all Pottery Barn. I could. But that would be an extravagant waste of time. Way more work than donating them to a women's home.

My Husband-ish is having a tough time letting go of stuff, too. He has a 1974 Porsche 914. He has TWO, actually. One is his daily driver; spunky yellow, zippy around a corner and really cute. The other one... well, it's pukey green, in a million pieces and rusting away. Definitely not cute. Guess which one he can't let go of... He talks about all the things he'll do to it , how it will turn out, where he'll race it. I wonder if I'll ever see It run. But then he wonders why I've hung on to That Chair for so long.

There are things in all of our lives that we as individuals have a tough time letting go of. Not because of the value it holds to this world, but because we identify it with a time in our life or feelings of security. When we relate to things by the feelings they spark, it's as though we are tossing the emotions aside. But IT'S JUST STUFF. Right? Why then is it so difficult to let someone else repurpose those things right on out the door?

It's not easy, but eventually we all benefit from letting go.

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Happy Earth Day and Happy Repurposing!

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