It took me 22 years
... and 30 seconds and a Magic Eraser®
I just had the best 4 days with family who came to visit. It was the perfect way to kick off summer! This year is feeling like summertime when I was a kid. It could be because of the weather, but I think it was also spending time outdoors around a table sharing food and great conversation, the energy from connection, and the bucketfuls of fresh peaches and apricots from our garden that are giving me the summer vibes. I’m intent on keeping that goodness going!
Since we haven’t fully settled into our house (aka longest move ever), I had some prep to do…like, people need a place to sleep! My mind works circularly when I am organizing a physical space so I tend to move circularly when I am straightening up and organizing. I go from upstairs to downstairs and back up in a way that might be relatable or incredibly irritating, depending on your perspective and mind/movement patterns.
Once the guest room was ready, I found myself positioning two of my favorite ceramic votive holders. I bought the pair in July 2003 on the west coast of Ireland on my first trip to Europe. I had to turn the taller of the two so the half-peeled-off price sticker wouldn’t show. Done, I turned to do the next thing and I almost walked away.
I stopped. “What the hell have I been so busy doing for 22 years that I couldn’t remove the sticker residue so I could place the ceramic piece however I want?”
Everything and nothing. Whew.
It took 30 seconds and a Magic Eraser® to get the white gunk off. But because two decades have passed, the glue underneath has aged and is nearly smooth against the ceramic. Hmm. It’s left an indelible mark. My inaction and action caused something.
What do bucketfuls of peaches and apricots and visitors and ceramic candle holders have to do with a coaching and consulting business? Well, nothing and everything.
In coaching we ask A LOT of open-ended questions like, “What’s it costing you to not take action?” Sometimes the answer is nothing and sometimes it’s everything.
Since last week, I’ve been asking myself that question each day. And, I’m happy I have because I’ve had the joy of catching up with a friend that lights me up, taking a chance, and laughing until I cried.
For today? Inaction is going to cost me the joy of sharing ripe peaches and apricots with the people I love. I am not going to miss out on that. I’m getting on the ladder.
Until the next letter, what’s your action that’ll bring you joy?