I've had a good old move around at home recently, changing the purpose of several rooms, and moving lots of furniture and it's contents. I've been interested in my emotional response to the process, so today's blog is about space and stuff and the way we interact with them.
Like many people, I love my home to be settled. Clean and tidy for me is comforting, knowing where stuff belongs and having it be in that place. I knew therefore it would be a big deal to have a re-jig, and in transition was expecting the sense of discombobulation that comes from me feeling that there is ‘stuff everywhere.’ It's understandable to feel less grounded when things appear unsettled, it happens in so many ways in life and our familiar space is important.
It was interesting to notice that once the changes were made, and new spaces were found for things, my sense of dis-ease continued for a while. It was as if there was a grieving for what was past, and a period of finding my way into the new. At a body level, I smiled to notice myself reaching for things in the places they used to be, on autopilot, before realising they were now somewhere else. The body really does remember, there are so many things we know and do just below consciousness so that we don’t have to think about them. Even when change is a choice, and a positive one, it can trigger a transition that can take emotional energy.
So why the significance of all this? After all, with the horror of millions of people in Europe displaced in such awful circumstances it might hardly feel a big deal that my house was in disarray for a short while. And it’s true, it is profoundly different, I am incredibly fortunate to have a safe home at all.
And yet, our sense of place is an important one. Simply acknowledging its effect on us is important as a way to honour feelings so that they can deliver their messages and pass through. Discomfort of any kind is valid and needs its time and place.
Why not take some time to notice how you interact with space and belongings. Where are the spaces that comfort you? Inspire you? Take you out of yourself? Bring you into yourself? How can you use space (and belongings) to manage your emotional state?
Sparing a thought for the wider context that affects us all, what will you do for those who are displaced and suffering the pain of losing their sense of home, place and safety?
