The beauty of constraints

This quote caught me by surprise as I flipped through an issue of Kinfolk I purchased off of Amazon. This issue was from Spring last year (2019) - so I certainly wasn't approaching the publication with expectation that anything would hit home during this season. And there it was - a quote at the top of the page from an article about two architects and their work in Arabia. Something that couldn't feel more different than my life or even circumstances and yet, there it was. It's interesting how true principles stand the test of time - their application being broad, simple and yet complex. Constraint is not a new phenomenon. And here we all are sitting right smack dab in the middle of it.

Personally, I'm not an outward, in your face kind of rebel, but I've never really liked anyone telling me what to do. My hubby would say it's just because I'm the oldest and I tend to be bossy, but generally I'm the type that smiles on the outside but I am rebelling hard on the inside.

So it should come as no surprise that the constraint of this season creates some discomfort. I know it does for all of us - because generally - we want to choose. We don't want to be told what to do. But this season is starting to teach me that there is beauty in constraint.

Let me explain myself. I don't know about you but this time in our history is helping me see just how much of my life I was living on the gravy train. You know, the fat - the sustenance, overindulgence, the ever present reality of the abundance of the first world. We have more than we even know what to do with - or we did until the world fell apart.

Now, with loss of jobs, furloughs, loss of revenue or stock values we are all looking at things a bit differently. The constraint - it requires you to ask what is important? If the dessert is not an option - heck, if only a portion of the meal is affordable - what do I prioritize?

With this zeroing in of focus it is also an opportunity to Carpe Diem - seize the day and look for the opportunity. What can be different? Where can I innovate? Where can I create? How do I want to write this next chapter of my story? Where can I reset, start over, do something in a completely different way? It's taking that zeroing in and actually using it to foster creativity - and you know what, if you really allow yourself to think about it, it can be very exciting.

I know, it is scary too - but I do believe that maybe this season of constraint could be a great opportunity for us to use as a new "setting-off" point.