The following is a story about three different people and how sometimes
change has it’s own time frame. There is a saying, "In God’s
time!" There is a time and a place for everything, and we cannot
push the river. These are stories about change, time, and patience.
When Betty decided to clean out her closet, she had no idea that she would
end up cleaning out her entire house. After she finished her bedroom closet,
she moved effortlessly to the hall closet, then to the downstairs closet.
And she didn’t stop there. She decided it was time to get rid of
the old furniture in the family room. So, she called Goodwill and scheduled
a time for them to come and pick up the stuff. By the time they arrived
the next week, Betty had cleared out not only the family room furniture,
but the living room, dining room, and her bedroom furniture, too.
Neighbors watched perplexed. They thought that Betty had really lost it.
But, you see, what they didn’t know was that Betty was going through
a shift in attitude. She wasn’t only clearing out her house. She
was clearing out her mind.
Betty’s husband had died 4 years prior to this. And for 4 years
she was very attached to her memories. Each piece of furniture represented
something of value in her life with her husband. In that 4 years she did
her grieving, her crying, her hibernating, her healing. Now it was time
to "get on with it." She realized that she would always have
her memories of her life with her husband, but the "things"
she was holding onto were keeping her stuck. Once everything was gone,
she could take a look at her life and see what she wanted to change. She
created a space for new things, people, and experiences to come in. She
started to making floral arrangements and pursue projects that she always
wanted to do, but never had the time to do. Betty now sells these beautiful
floral arrangements to interior decorators and real estate people and
is enrolled in Feng Shui classes to learn more about the Chinese art of
placement in interior design.
Sharon’s story is not unlike Betty’s. Sharon was a corporate
manager in San Francisco. Her husband, Bob, was a marketing manager for
a large firm in the city. At the age of 47, Sharon started reevaluating
her life. She and Bob decided to sell their home in the Marina District
and move to Aptos, California, near Santa Cruz. Bob always appreciated
his wife’s artistic talent for creating wonderful watercolors. He
believed that he could use his marketing experience and market Sharon’s
paintings. People thought they were crazy. They both left their high paying,
high pressure jobs and sold everything. They left their friends and colleagues
with mouths hanging open. They walked away and never looked back.
Today Sharon and Bob live in a lovely home in Aptos, California with a
view of the mountains and the ocean. Sharon paints and Bob is her promoter.
It is now 3 years later and they earn more money than their combined incomes
brought them working for other people.
Another woman, Lydia left, not only her home in Southern California, but
a 17 year old stagnant marriage and a career in construction. She uprooted
her 4 children and moved back to the Bay Area where she was born and raised
to pursue her dream of owning her own restaurant.
Northern California always held a special place in
her heart. Coming back to the Bay Area was symbolic of "coming back
to herself and her passions." Lydia had been thinking about this
change for quite some time, and now she had the courage to do it. Her
friends and family thought she was crazy. Six years later, she runs a
restaurant that has great food, and 3 of her 4 children work in the restaurant
with her.
These people all agree that when the feeling of "clearing out the
clutter" hits you, it’s like a wave, and you’re compelled
to ride it. As you simplify your life, you find yourself again. You start
creating time to take walks with your husband, have lunch with friends
at the Clairmont, go camping, go to movies in the middle of the day, finding
a career you can be passionate about. And for those of you who are saying,
"Who has the time to do that?" Perhaps it’s time to unclutter
your life. There could be a whole new life waiting for you. Be prepared,
however, people may think you're going crazy!
For more information on how to get started with recreating your life,
call Joy Broughton at 707 963-4453. Her classes and individual sessions
have helped hundreds of people find happiness and fulfillment in their
lives and careers.
Joy Broughton is a Life Coach and specializes in helping people find and
pursue the Life That is Waiting for them.
