Shifting the Sandbox

The environment drives the mood. I have recently found co-working with the local barista at The Brew on 610 n. Creyts Rd. in Lansing to be the most productive space lately. As a Mom, Wife, church volunteer, Artist, and aspiring entreprenuer, I have a lot of squirrels to keep track of. Slipping away to this beautiful coffee shop at least once a week helps me to focus and make progress on my goals. In theory, I should be able to settle down to the administrative tasks after my family dispatches to work and school, but the reality is that my space is full of distractions even without the amazing humans I share it with.

There will always be laundry to fold, or a floor to sweep, and I tend to address these tasks as I see them if they will take less than 15 minutes to complete. This is a solid practice for keeping the home tidy and organized, but it can also eat up hours, 15 minutes at a time as performing one task leads you to see another.

When the house is in a peak state of fitness, I will always choose to slip away and paint. When painting I am lost in hyperfocus, unable to sense hunger or fatigue, just creating. I can dwell in this space for hours on end and can only be interrupted by alarms to remind me to pick up the kids from school or to transition to an appointment.

And somewhere in all of that are those moments of frustration that I just don't have enough time. The reality is there is enough time, it just has to be stewarded well. The way I spend the time must be intentional, and in line with what I value. In this season that looks like shifting my sandbox once a week as I work to develop a habit of organizing all of the calendars and alarms that keep my household flourishing. This becomes effortless as I enjoy the first latte, with warm lighting, delicious aromas and ambient smooth jazz. Then I shift into working on my website and blog with the second latte. The first latte is an exploration of a new flavor, but the second one has to be the Cosmic River. It is the smoothest blend of blackberry, lavender and lemon oil, perfectly calibrated to a full espresso pull and the creamiest foam cap. Aided by the delicious harmony of this drink, my right brain is soothed and the left brain is ready to engage in the writing of this blog.

I have recently been working through the research of Professor Vanderwheele who performed a study on Human Flourishing through the Harvard school of social sciences, who defined flourishing into 5 central domains: happiness and life satisfaction, physical and mental health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships.

Examining these domains through a Christian worldview reveals the inherent truth and wisdom of the Bible in application to achieve the Zoe life that God intends for us. It also showed me that the negative emotions I feel, like fear, irritation, and frustration are actually messages from my internal systems signalling that something isn't in alignment with my values. In the thick of it, I might ignore those signals, but when I shift my sandbox and reduce the stimulus, I find the space to be still and listen to the voice of the one who loves me and knows me so well. In this third space, I can hear Him better and invite Him to look through these pieces and adjust the alignment.

I share this to encourage you to examine the thing that is driving the negative emotions in you today. Maybe the fix is something as simple as changing the environment. Or maybe the emotional signal is highlighting a way that your actions are out of sync with your values. Maybe its just to remind you to be still...and know that He is God. Wherever you are today, know that I am praying for you, for us, for all humans to flourish, and most importantly that all people would know the One, Holy and and Soveriegn God who loves them so, so deeply that he sent his Son so that they may know what the Zoe life is.

Sending you Grace and Peace, love Brenda.

P.S. be sure to treat yourself to a coffee from The Brew when you get a chance.