117 | My Nemesis: A Full Water Pitcher
Hello beautiful humans,
Big life update … this week I left my full-time job working at Sweet Bloom Coffee, a place that has meant so much to me over almost a decade, both behind the bar and sitting across from it.
I left (on great terms) for a number of reasons, but one of them was the toll the job has been taking on my body the past few years.
Unfortunately, due to some challenges in the bar setup at one of the locations I worked at, I was injured in my final months, which lead to me developing pretty bad tendonitis in both my forearms, especially my right one.
I’ve had moments of taking this injury in stride, and moments of letting it completely break me down.
I’ll tell ya, not being able to grab things and lift things is pretty wild. Who would have thought brushing your teeth or holding a coffee mug could be a challenge!
Due to my injury pretty much incapacitating my ability to work, my last day came sooner than expected, so this weekend was suddenly the first weekend where I wouldn’t be going to a job on Monday.
To treat myself in taking the weekend off before jumping into figuring out job stuff, I decided to go to my favorite place in Denver for breakfast this morning, Stowaway Kitchen, and something interesting happened there as I waited for my food.
I finished my glass of water and looked up at this full pitcher of water, a pitcher I realized I couldn’t lift because of the tendinitis in both of my arms, and I just started laughing!
It was a beautiful moment of accepting my current reality, one I am doing my best to accept daily with good humor. After laughing out loud at the small absurdity of not being able to pour myself a glass of water, I proceeded to ask the server to pour it for me. :)
Accepting our limitations is often a process.
This process can include anger, frustration, and grief. I am learning to give every voice in me space to speak, but then choosing how I want to move forward from this place of acceptance.
Staying in a place of feeling down about a limitation is life sucking. Moving from that place is empowering and life giving.
Although it may not always feel like it, our limitations are an invitation to connect with our creativity. We can't do things one way, so we have to get creative in finding another way.
So whatever your limitations in life may be right now ... lack of resources, being physically immobile in some way, being a single parent ... allow yourself space to feel everything that comes up. Then, as you accept what is, make a deliberate decision of how you want to move from that place. (NOTE: Repeat process as many times as necessary!)
I'm willing to bet there is some juicy creativity in you waiting to be unleashed in the process.
Sending so much love your way,
Shel
P.S. I was reminded today of a song I wrote called "No One's Pace But Your Own." It's a simple song that reminds me to not get too caught up in what others are doing. I'm on my path. I'm going at my own pace, and so can you.
