We decided to paint the inside of our house this month. We’re right in the middle of the project… and what were we thinking?!

Pretty much all of our first floor furniture is in the garage and there is plastic covering everything else. At one point, we couldn’t even open cabinets in the kitchen! The mess is massive (absolutely no complaining here, just setting some context for the point of this post).

This morning, I packed up what I needed for my day because even though it’s the weekend, the painting continues. Our masked painters showed up bright and early and we’re vacating the premises to give them space.

When Chuck and I came downstairs this morning (walking carefully on some very slippery plastic tarps) the first thing I noticed was how dirty this job is. I kind of knew how messy it would be in my mind, but now that we’re in it… wow :). Chuck is more prone to be able to see the finished job in his mind, so he had me look at the freshly painted ceilings from yesterday. They do indeed look amazing and it calmed be down a bit. Even though the color is exactly the same as before, there is certainly a freshness and newness that just feels so right and good.

It wasn’t a big profound aha moment by any means, but rather a super sweet moment that had me wonder down the path of the word “fresh.”

During these long January days of pandemic living, bringing freshness to our home has given me a new found energy and aliveness to the daily dance of life. Again, not very profound; yet very satisfying.

I’ve been sitting with the question of what else wants/needs to be “freshened” up a bit? What fresh perspective do I need to bring into my life? Where have I become super rigid and righteous about things?

Today I’m working on refreshing a workshop I led years ago and simply giving it a new angle and some fun new exercises. And I’m having a ball doing it!

What might you “freshen” up a bit? A relationship? Your wardrobe? A project that got put aside? Where might it be useful in your life to welcome a fresh thought?

Blessings-
Rick