Tea Light House analogy...
A week ago, a friend and I went to an evening sculpture
class. In the two-hour class we would
make a tea light house out of clay. Neither
of us had done anything like this before so it was going to be
interesting. We were given our pre-cut
clay and were shown how to put the pieces together to make the little
houses. The strength and stability of
the house was determined by how carefully we followed the instructions. The sculptor explained that once we get the
inside sorted the outside would look after itself. We had to carefully press the sides together
and then join the pieces with extra clay.
It was quite a process and took time, patience, and a gentle hand. She had to tell us several times to "make
sure you get the inside right before you work on the outside" as we wanted to
rush ahead. We all talked about this
quite a bit and decided that it was a great analogy for life. If you do the work required on the inside and
do it well, the outside will fall into place.
The sculptor explained that if we didn't take our time and put in the effort needed to make the inside strong and secure our house would not stand up to being in the kiln. It could crack and crumble under the pressure.
There's a great life lesson in this process. We need to take the time to work on our insides, to build strong values, self-belief and resilience, so that when we are put under pressure, we are more likely to be strong and able to withstand the pressures of everyday life, or our life's kiln.
Life is not meant to be an easy ride. There will always be ups and downs, a roller coaster of good and bad, but if we have taken the time and continue to take time to re-fuel ourselves, we can absolutely ride the roller coaster with less fear and anxiety.
What do you do to work on your inside? What would you do to make sure your tea light house is as strong as it can be?
Me? I like to walk, play with my dogs, hang out with family & friends, travel, enjoy the outdoors and bake. I like to listen to podcasts and music. And I am continually learning to be more accepting of what life throws at me. More accepting of the things I can't control and I focus on my reactions instead. For me it's ongoing, a work in progress. But each step forward, each step I take to make my tea light house strong is a step in the right direction.
