How do you find tranquility amidst the utter chaos of restoration?

That question naturally has you thinking about home remodeling, doesn’t it. Well, actually it’s about the restoration of life in the middle of chaotic times.

The last half of May found me shop hunting and house hunting at the same time, with the intention of combining the two. The ideal location was almost obtained, but the day I was moving out, it fell through. So, I had to find some temporary housing until I can finally discover the new home of Adam King Studio. Thankfully, the current shop location is still available, but not for much longer as they are needing that space for expansion.

Going back to moving day, I recall being a bit sore the next day, and waking up the day after in serious pain. As the week progressed it got more and more intense. That’s when I knew something was way wrong. I have bad shoulders in the first place, but my right shoulder was in serious distress. A visit to the doctor revealed a bulging disc around C3 or C4 that is pinching the nerves running into my right arm. This in turn was causing the muscles in my shoulder to seize and feel as though it was dislocating. To put it into perspective the Dr. said I am one false move away from laying face down on the operating table as they fuse my neck together. Needless to say, I am now under very strict orders to not do anything that will put strain on the disc and the nerves running to it. This includes moving and it certainly means no woodworking until I’m out of the danger zone. These two scenarios are also sprinkled with a few odds and ends of other small issues that seem to be attempting to trip me up where I stand. It would seem that this whole thing I call life is in utter chaos.

So, what do you do when the vision of peace and tranquility you have for life just doesn’t seem to be the current reality? Let’s look at three simple perspective shifts that will keep you from crumpling like a prize fighter who just got his ribs caved in.

Your environment is where you are at right now.

I emphasize tranquility within the home’s interior quite a bit. It’s my core message.  But, what if you aren’t in your home? What if you don’t have a home at the moment? That’s the beautiful thing about tranquility. It isn’t picky about where you are. It can exist anywhere. Just as you engineer a space in your home to produce tranquility, you can alter a temporary space to do the same.

Are you in a hotel room that isn’t conducive to working and resting in peace? Well, move the offending furnishings around until you have a flow that resonates with you and increases the ability to work or rest in a peaceful manner. What about a temporary home? If you’re couch surfing, you obviously don’t have a lot of space to manipulate, but you have personal belongings. Keep your couch surfing supplies in check so they don’t take over the precious little space you’re borrowing. There is an old saying that gets passed around the primitive campers, “Leave no trace.” That’s the general rule to follow in any temporary housing situation. You stand a better chance at a tranquil experience if you keep your things from disturbing the environment you inhabit at the moment. Let them blend into the surroundings of you will.

Tranquility begins inside in order to spill over to the outside.

I know this is something that sounds a bit cliche and over used, but the seeds of tranquility have to begin within you. How can you achieve it if you have no real desire to have it in the first place? How do you expect to take the steps necessary to learn what it is and how to maintain it if there is no internal desire for it? The desire to experience real tranquility breeds the drive to take action on obtaining it. But it’s an inside out experience. Starts inside, and manifests outwardly. The end goal is to be able to engineer tranquility in any environment by first creating it in the interior of the mind.

Chaos is the training ground for tranquility.

How can you expect to maintain your current pant size without training? How can I expect to excel at making high end furniture without constantly testing my skills? In order to maintain and then get better at something that improves your life, you need testing and training. Enter chaos. It is the training ground for achieving and maintaining true tranquility. Just as fire needs water to keep it in check, you need bits of chaos to maintain the ability to engineer tranquility in the mind and the home. Here’s the hard part. In order to really make the most of the training, you have to accept the chaos and even embrace it. Be grateful for it, because without it, you would loose sight of the precious end goal.

I could close this out with a deep thought, or zen-like summary of the whole matter, but not this time. Instead, I’m simply dropping this in front of you so you can examine it, test it, and see if it works for you.

Tell me your thoughts in the comments.

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