In my office I have a great window facing west. My office didn't really have a seating area...but when I needed to slow down I created one. I created a place to soak my foot and enjoy the sunshine or rain from my west window.
In creating this unconventional spa area...5 gallon bucket for my Epson salt baths...and all, ... I was transported back to my childhood. As a kid I would set up the card table in the middle of the living room, throw a quilt over the top and create my own nook. I had no formal training in nook building but there was something deep in my spirit that needed a nook of my own.
I would gather up treasures, books, things I loved and go under(table) I was happy there. I was free to ponder, discover. I can't even explain what "it" is, except my happy spirit space.
To create this new space, I grabbed a wicker chair from my patio and got a 5 gallon bucket to soak my foot. I sit next to my books and treasures. I'm tucked in a back corner a spot unused for daily life. This is my nook. It's not fancy or extravagant. It didn't cost me a dime. It must be good, Penny Kitty seem to get "it" instantly.
This weekend as I was nursing a soar foot, instead of having despair...I found joy. I would go to my nook, with with my treasures and be. I didn't see joy as a side effect from an injured food. By having to shift my life and slow down even slower than I was... I created my nook out of need. It taught me what can happen when we slow down and create space.
Yesterday, as I was soaking my foot and a bit of Sarah Ban Breathnach's book Simple Abundance...you will never guess what I read about...yup... creating a nook of your own. June 10th...you can't make this stuff up.
A nook is more than a space to sit. It is permission to create, to explore, to be 10 years old again. To play, to have a playhouse and let go of your actual house chores. It is to be a kid again, free from adulthood, full of creative wonder and secret loves. Not everything in life needs to make sense or be shared...sometimes we need a quiet space...a space we create as we go. Simple - unconventional. A place where our imaginations can turn a nook into world of adventure.
If you come see my secret nook- will you be bedazzled? Maybe, maybe not, who knows? What's more important...will you want to go home and create a nook of your own? Oh, I hope so!!
I know we are in the middle of a Pandemic, an economic shut down and civil right re-creation...I also know my own business has shifted and my freedom to run...paused.... This is our life...but in the midst of life...isn't it essential to create a nook of our own? A place we can be free to create, ponder, be true to our spirit.
From this space...the rest of the world is easier.
Wishing you enriched journeys and a delightful nook of your own.
Denise
