Refinement

Refinement

The magic word for my intention this year is Refinement.  Everyday I wake up and think “refinement” 

and what that means to me is ….how can I make my life better today ?.

Most people give their power away by wishing to win the lottery and then they can buy all new.  But that’s not what I really want.  I love the challenge of making something look “first class” by transforming something old, unused, abused, and neglected.  It is a thrill for me to figure out how to make my life better each day by just “refining” belongings and details that are already in my life.

The first 6 years in this house I spent all my money remodeling all 3 floors….major remodeling as this is a 1923 house, Windows, flooring, walls, plumbing,furnaces. . The next 6 years were redoing all of the landscaping that was huge overgrown, sad old bushes all around the back yard and that awful stockade fence that was now rotted at the posts that held it up.  This year my back yard finally looks magnificent and I feel totally blessed and thrilled when I walk into my back yard and know that I did it….sometimes angels sent the help of my friends but I had the vision and when they offered , I had a plan and we had fun together creating beauty …that is relationship….that is love….creating something new is an opportunity to share love.

This year I have been longing for my porch to look even better than ever before. So, today I went to Home Depot and bought 6 cans of gloss white spray paint to freshen up all of my white wicker furniture.  Then I will power wash the porch and wash the windows inside and out. Then repaint just the front porch wall and on some coolish and wind still day the crowing glory will be to paint all the black wrought iron railings

This will make it make it look fabulous….even better than it’s ever been.  I love entertaining on my front porch.  I love relaxing and reading on my front porch and I will love it even more when I lay on my couch and look around and everything looks perfectly loved and cared for and I am proud that I took action and fixed it just the way I want it.

This is visioning, this is dreaming of the end result ,of the way I want it to look and the way I want to be feeling about it when the work is all done.  When I start with the vision of what I want it inspires me to “get at it” and I can’t wait to see the results.

In the past when I tell myself “I should”   paint the porch, paint the chairs, it all sounds like work and I procrastinate.   Now that I have clearly seen the vision I can’t wait to get at it because I know it won’t take me very long.  I am inspired to “refine” and make better and Take action and I am motivated.  

Each day I find new things to add to my “refinement” list….

I made it better….is so very empowering.   I made it better in just a few minutes.

Just before I sat down to write this I took a long piece of wood molding from the garage

To solve a problem with a wandering slip cover on a couch.  I straightened it and stuck the wood at the back so that the slip cover wouldn’t get messed up.  Whew !  that only took 5 min. and it will stay the way I fixed it .    I took another rod (unused for 5 years from the garage) and fixed a valance that I’d been thinking about for months. 

Everyday I tell myself that……

 “I always have extra time to do the little things that refine my life.”

And more and more I am finding that all those little things that have been messing up my mind because I’ve been procrastinating on them really only took 5 or 10 minutes to do the task and put away the supplies.

Just last week I accomplished at least 20 “little things”  gluing a loose Formica piece,  gluing the wing on an angel,  throwing out a box of  business cards that I’ve kept adding to in my office for 3 years.  FREEDOM  is fixing , throwing out and refining.

Today is a very hot, sticky day outside and I am deliciously cool inside my house and “refining” my office by catching up on organizing papers….until I felt inspired to type this in hopes to inspire you to enjoy “refinement”.

Refining is empowering  and it hardly costs anything.  The glue cost me $1.23.  The paint cost $25.00.  NOW the peace of mind and the visual enjoyment they will give me and pride of my belongings and presentation will reward me for years.

Ahhhh Refinement….it’s  a very good word  because it inspires me to take ACTION

What are you inspired to refine in your life today.   Write down 3 things each day and do it. !