a room of one’s own

Writing Cottage Anew. It’s a Jungle in Here.

Writing Cottage Anew. It's a Jungle in Here.
My writing desk and over-sized chair where I meditate and also like to read.

For about three weeks I kept pushing aside the yearning I had to re-arrange my writing and creative cottage. This 10 x 12 space that sits off the corner of my deck and feels like a giant hug each time I walk through the Victorian screen door.

Earlier this spring I purged what I no longer needed in this space as I believe when we discard what no longer serves us, it allows for new creativity to come into our lives.

But it had been awhile since I re-arranged the furniture. There are only so many ways in which I can position all the pieces, but this feeling of moving things around kept beckoning.

Sunday and in the wee early hours, lying awake in bed there was this voice again, Time to move things around in the cottage. And what followed next I struggled a few hours with (though in reality I’d been giving thought to this for a long time). I heard that it was time for me to also let go of some of my Frankie photos and memorabilia. I felt some resistance, but I promised myself I’d take it into consideration.

Later in the morning after procrastinating for a time, I answered that intuitive call and out to my cottage I went to begin the task of making it anew.

I have a tall free-standing bookshelf, my writing desk, what I call my analog desk (where I do my daily oracle readings for myself and where I create in my art journal), an over-sized wicker chair with matching ottoman, 3-drawer side table, and a chest on wheels. My petite gas stove stays permanently fixed in the northwest corner. It’s quite a few pieces to have contained in this small space, but somehow I manage to make it all work, even though it has its limits on what I can do.

My analog table where I work on art journaling plus each morning after meditation pull an oracle card (or two or three!) and journal.

I moved some pieces onto the deck so I could more easily move other’s around. Then I took down all the photos of Frankie and the memorabilia I had on two of the walls. From there I decided what would stay and what could go, but not before taking a photograph of what I was letting go. Two went into storage downstairs and one I put on the wall in the living room, while five other remain in my writing cottage. This feels right.

Over the years I’ve been making shifts away from my identity solely being about my life and my work I’d done with Frankie and disabled dogs. It hasn’t always been easy, but I remind myself it’s because of Frankie and then Joie, and now Gidget, that I am who I am today.

I have no doubt Frankie and Joie are happy, and blessing me from the other side, that I continue to spread my wings and learn to fly in new ways. As for Gidget, well, she was another pivotal marker in guiding me to this new space of acceptance. That story is yet to come and what I am in the throws of with writing a new book.

Part of my letting go of some of the Frankie items was that over three years ago I set the intention to open to the wisdom of all animals, which I owe to the dogs in my life for all they taught to me. And so one-by-one (unlike two-by-two with Noah’s Ark!) I’ve been bringing other animal totems, photos and images into this place I hold so sacred. Animals that have come into my life via guided meditations, in the wild, through animal readings, and those I just feel drawn to for some reason or another.

Looking around my room as I write this now I realize all the different critters that surround me! There is, dragonfly, wolf, mouse, owl, ladybug, birds, horse, musk ox, butterfly, donkey, dolphin, pig, whale, turtle, salamander, deer, lion, tiger, leopard, flamingo, frog, giraffe, squirrel, snake, cat and dragon. They are now, along with my dog friends present and past, with me as I write and create. 

A cozy spot for a guest to sit or a place to collect magazines and books to read.

The past, and those items attached with it, I know, not always easy to let go of physically and emotionally. But when we lovingly and gently let go, while blessing all of it for helping shape us into who we are, not only is that a gift that stays with us always, but it then opens a new channel of opportunity for more gifts to find us.

After everything was neatly in their new places, I burned some sage as a special ritual to clean out of the old energy so new energy can take hold. And I must say, I do feel a refreshing new energy today as I write this post. Ahhhh, yes!

My symbolic corner of courage and strength.

And so this lovely jungle it is in my writing and creative cottage anew, I find myself quite content, and ready to continue to walk this journey that I alone can only walk.

XO,

Barbara

A Sacred Space Within.

A Sacred Space Within.

My writing cottage has become so much more to me than I would have ever anticipated when it was built in 2007. It began as a place for me to have quiet while I did my writing and away from distractions in the house that would beg my attention – like washing the dishes, throwing in laundry, answering the phone (when we had a landline) or suddenly feeling the need to tidy up.

As I’ve written before, there was some sacrifice involved. I sold a red, sporty car – a Mitsubishi 3000GT that I owned to pay for the lumber to build the ten by twelve room. While in some ways it was a difficult decision because I loved that car, in other ways it wasn’t. It felt like the right thing for me to do.

But I didn’t really feel then, or now, that it was a sacrifice. I was making a choice and one I was comfortable in doing.

Little did I realize at the time how this space would become sacred to me. Joseph Campbell said that your sacred space is where you go to find yourself over and over again.

It’s how I feel about this special place of my own now, separate from our home, away from distractions. I think because I am a deep thinker, it is imperative for me to have lots of quiet and alone time. I can’t hear myself think among the noise of the world – the news filled with sadness and much hate – and the technology that can consume us.

But even if one isn’t a deep thinker, being alone is essential to one’s well being. When I think about when I was young and newly married, I was so scared to be alone when John went out. I didn’t like to be by myself. But the older I’ve gotten, the more I crave it. I need it. It is truly part of my self-care.

This little olive green cottage has helped me heal in many ways in which I needed to do so and why at one point I started calling it my Zen writing cottage.

It has brought me to a place within myself that I can go to be in peace when I need to. And what’s so interesting, that after all these years of having this quiet place to come to, I can much more easily carry that same feeling with me wherever I go.

And this is the thing I want to share. You don’t need a space such as mine, or to travel a long distance. We each have to find that space where we feel safe and can be alone – to hear ourselves think – to be alone with our thoughts and sort them out – to acknowledge them. I’ve found, that is what helps ground me – keeps me centered – fills me up once again.

While I’m not ready to give up this space of mine that has become a spiritual and healing place for me, I know I will be okay should I have to leave it behind someday. Because it’s what it has done for me that I can never lose – how it has supported me and helped me evolve – that I take with me. I will always have that now.

And I can now take this knowing into new territory. Whether a walk in the woods, siting on the sofa, or a walk on the beach – it’s the conscious choice of being alone, with myself, to fill the well of who I am and how I want to continue to grow is what is vital.

Some of my most cherished and treasured times have been with me, myself, and I, and within the Self of my own temple that I call me.

Just a friendly reminder that I’m giving away a copy of my new book Wisdom Found in the Pause – Joie’s Gift. To enter, visit my post from yesterday and leave a comment by midnight cst, Thursday, Oct. 27th.

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My “She Shed” (A.K.A. Zen Writing Cottage) to Be Featured in Book

My “She Shed” (A.K.A. Zen Writing Cottage) to Be Featured in Book

I’m pretty excited to share that my “She Shed” or as I like to call it, my Zen Writing Cottage, will be featured in a book coming out in May 2016 from Affirm Press publishing.

I never, ever thought the day I decided I needed a space of my own that someday it would be in a book!

When the publisher contacted me a few weeks ago, I love what they said about their mission about this project, as it lines up with my philosophy.

“Through this project we’re hoping to celebrate women’s spaces and promote female creativity, artistry and design. This book could be both a comfort and an inspiration to women everywhere who aspire to design and create their own private spaces.”

I have no doubt this book will inspire many to start thinking of carving out a space of their own. Imagine how we can uplift this world with more creativity!

I can’t wait to see it in print and will keep you posted once it is available so stay tuned.

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