Discarded places
I have an affinity for discarded places. Abandoned homes offer scope for the imagination. I often wonder what story they could tell?
Jeff and I have restored numerous homes in the past thirty years. My favorite two homes started out as irredeemable projects. The first house sheltered numerous dogs no one knew existed until the family moved out. The second house we affectionally named the cat house. The former owner was a recluse who let cats overrun the home. Imagine how these two houses smelled when we purchased them. Our friends and family thought we had lost our minds, believing the homes were tearer downers instead of a fixer uppers.
Restoring homes often cost more and took more time than expected. We never worked from a plan, the creative process kept us going.
In hindsight, would we have took on these discarded places? Yes. The hard work and the cost was always worth it. Our first home won an award for the most improved property in 1998. The second home I mentioned was on the Champaign County Preservation Alliance 2007 Home & Garden Tour.
Discarded dreams
Discarded homes reminds me of abandoned dreams.
Do suffer grief from ignoring dreams that once whispered to your heart? What stories do your discarded dreams tell?
Are you ready to tell a different story? As Dr. Christiane Northrup explains in her book Goddesses Never Age, midlife women begin to “realize they’re no longer willing to put their dreams on hold and live according to what everyone around them wants.”
Restoration
I learned restoration is always possible with our irredeemable projects.
Trust your intuition. Your dream won’t scream for attention. It is often a knowing, a yearning. Pay attention to the yearnings and allow your creative juices to flow.
Can you allow your imagination to explore the possibilities? I recommend giving your dreams a voice by journaling them.
Don’t dwell
Jeff and I never dwell on the what ifs or the hows. Oh, the stories I could tell! Throwing caution to the wind has created a few doozy mistakes, but also allowed us to experience a few fairy book stories like how we landed in Burton, Texas in 2014.
Worry is a misuse of the imagination and kills dreams. If you find yourself dwelling on a dream instead of pursuing it, get curious. Could you be indulging in worry? Mathew 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Hope brings restoration. If it is on your heart, move toward the dream. Don’t worry about the “how”. As Marie Forleo famously says, “Everything is figure-outable.”
Master of reinvention
My life is built on renovated places. I am the master of reinvention. I’ve had the heart ache of walking away from a dream when it came to it’s natural end, but rarely a heart ache from a dream not pursued.
It is my goal to help midlife women believe their best years are ahead.
If you have a whisper tugging at your heart, I can help!
Does your life resemble the abandoned home with scope for the imagination? Let’s restore your discarded dreams or create new ones. I offer a FREE mini session for those of you who are curious how I can help. Check out my calendar link below to pick a date and time that works for you!
Here’s to renovating those discarded places! Let’s find out what is possible.
~Tiffany Eckhardt
And the birds fluttered around her writing “YES” in the sky!
