This summer has been the summer of scraping and painting. YUK! Two of my least favorite things, along with mowing the lawn and cleaning the bathroom. But as I thought about it, scraping and painting is a good metaphor for life's stagnations. At some point in our lives, we all require a good scraping, at which point you are blessed with a clean work surface.. like a piece of bare wood. You prime it with your dreams for the future. In your mind all these little thought bubbles need to be brushed into a finish that makes sense and the completed product will create a finish that will take your breath away, simply because it is so beautiful. If you're doubly lucky it will be more dazzling than you imagined. Perhaps you added some colorful trim work or ornate detail. Take for example our living room. The walls are beige, but when we added some color to the trim and a sizable handmade fireplace to the wall, it became more spectacular than we originally envisioned. Ambitions and dreams are like that too. For example, I dreamed of having a bike. Sounds nice, but the addition of a bell and a sturdy wicker basket made this dream even more delightful! Not only could I ride my bike, but I could ring the bell to let people know I had arrived and share with them the wine carried in the nice sturdy basket. Every once in a while we need to scrap away the flakes of life to expose some bare material in order to start building again. To stay the same and never grow and continue to learn and dream would be a shame. As I am scraping away all the flakes and dead paint on the flower bed, I am reminded that it is OK to scrap away life's flakes at times too. Take stock of what is working and what is not. Some things that may have brought joy before, no longer do. That is OK. Be grateful they did bring you joy when they did. Sometimes as we grow we need to do a little inside remodeling, sometimes a little outside remodeling is needed too. If you no longer feel fulfilled, do a little scraping and see what flakes off and put a new coat of happiness on it. Or if your finish is physically bringing you down and perhaps you no longer feel vital or energetic, scrap away all that junk in your cupboards into the trash. Then begin to fill your cabinets with the joy of knowing you are doing your body good. Keep your lean, mean virus machine in tip top shape both mentally and physically. When it comes to your finish, sometimes it is good to use a good primer. You know, really start those thought bubbles going to make sure it sticks a while. A plan can help ensure the finish lasts. But oftentimes it's just as rewarding to dip that brush in some color and start painting, the brighter the hue the better! The fun and excitement of true spontaneity, you just never know what the remodel will look like. How could you benefit from a good scraping and fresh painting? Head back to the Home page to Join My Blog and receive new post updates and visit the main menu to read past posts of Positivity!
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