Spice
There’s that saying that variety is the spice of life.
Well, I’ve tried something new this week.
I’ve found with writing that you can feel a bit hemmed in being at home all the time. There’s no margin between work life and home life, job and family. I think it would be too much of a stretch to say that I miss the yuck London commutes with a million other people piled into a train carriage each day, but I do miss the going somewhere.
It’s also very solitary. I expected this, and I actually love being on my own, and doing creative things, but too much of it, and you can get lonely. There’s no one to chat with as you stir the tea in the kitchen, there’s no small-talk about the weekend or family stuff, in fact sometimes you realise you’ve barely said a word out loud all day, eek.
So anyway, I adore my home and I adore the peacefulness, but in aid of being part of the wider world, I’ve tried something new this week. I’ve packed up my laptop, jumped on an early train with Michael and gone to Starbucks! Yay, for Starbucks! It’s a lovely one too, airy, bright, big windows, lots going on.
I buy a gigantic skinny latte, open up my computer and start going to work for the next couple of hours. I’m amazed at how much I can get done as distractions are easy, but it’s fine. I get really absorbed, and every once in a while come up for a sip of coffee and to take in the receptionists buying bags of frappuccinos and muffins to take back to the office, and the coffee business meetings going on all around me. It’s great.
So, what do you do when you find that something in your life needs spice or needs something new? Maybe in your marriage, your appearance, your exercise regime, your time with God?
You can chat with me tomorrow…. I’m working from home
Hey B, thanks for this article. I find this can happen at all stages of life & no matter what the circumstances. If you’re too busy, or not busy enough, if you’re tired & or over relaxed these feelings can come in & really the solution i”ve come to find is CHRIST.
Complacency can always set in & we can easily become distracted from the blessings God’s given us.
He is the living water & our daily bread, seeing Him move each day & becoming alive in Him like John 15 says.
God bless…
p.s i miss our daily chats!!
xx
Hi Babe - Yay!!!!!!!!!
Hi El - You see! That’s why I miss coming into the office - because of your amazing Godly perspectives on things. Miss our chats too
You’re so right about this, that no matter what, there can always be an unsettled-ness, but with Jesus, He seems to breathe life and joy into our circumstances, irrespective of what we’re doing. Thanks for this OX
Congratulations and welcome to my sort of coffee shop office lifestyle. Hey nearly every time we speak I am soaking up the melodic clatter of cups, chatter and background music. I love the whole experience and find myself almost lost in the surroundings, aroma of coffee and of course chocolate cake. To me coffee shops can be a mental spa stimulating an explosion of creative juices. x
Hi Tali, this just made me smile
it’s so true, practically every time we speak or text there’s a coffee shop involved. You are so right, cafes have so much atmosphere and really help with the creativity. Looking forward to showing you some gorgeous little places when you next visit me in London OX
This is so interesting to think about. Your spice of choice is a people-charged atmosphere. The bottle on the rack I reach for, which happens to be a bit dusty and very full because I hardly ever use it, is time alone. What would a quiet life be like? Part of me yearns for that. At times the yearning is so great that I make the huge effort to get away. But sometimes that craving goes unsatisfied. I am not complaining; it is just interesting to consider the life of someone on the other side of the world in the opposite hemisphere.
Oh, and you have a dear husband!
By the way - - - I have been meaning to ask you, how do you pronounce your name?
Dear @ngie, you know if you lived a wee bit closer I’d have you over to our place for a quiet weekend retreat
but what an AMAZING life you and your husband and family are leading for God in Bolivia, may He find ways to refresh you with the quiet times you crave for. I love your writing too, the way you ran with the spice theme :).
My name is said Birg (as in “ice berg” - “it” as in “it is a nice day” - Birg-it
Yeah, Michael is a dear one :).
I often do the same thing. I actually do work in a office with people but have to isolate myself when I write. So my compromise is to go to a public place like Starbucks where I can continue to write but am at least surrounded by people and a little ambient noise. It seems to settle my ADD just a little.
Glad I found your blog. I have read several very encouraging post this morning.
Someday I might take you up on that offer for a weekend getaway… you never know where life will lead.
Yes, I agree our life is amazing, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Thanks for the clear explanation of how to say your name. It is a lovely name.
Hi Pete, Great that you stopped by. I know what you what about cafes, they’re the perfect blend of atmosphere but also your own space too so that you can get on with work. It’s great to get that mix!
Hi @ngie - yeah, you never know what God has in store
I know exactly how you feel. I have been a stay at home mom for the past six years and remember when I left the workplace how strange it felt to stay at home. That lasted just a few months, because I like to go, go, go. I love home too, but sometimes getting out and going helps pass the day and add a little excitement (as if we need anymore excitement!)
Your name is gorgeous!
Hi Brandi, it’s lovely to hear from you :). Yeah, I wondered about that, and I thought it must be a real similar experience for new mums making the change to working at home with their family. It’s so true how getting out adds something to the day, I’m so happy to have found a way to balance working from home.
good for you! i think i would do something like that, too. having those boundaries to define time and space would be helpful for me.
Hi alece, something I’m finding interesting about it is learning about the method side of writing too. I thought it would be as a simple as sitting down in front of a laptop (and maybe it is for some people) but so far, I’ve really enjoyed mixing it up a bit, and a new setting can really help to get you focused again :).