“Make Space”

Hey everyone, 

What an exciting week, I feel like we’re getting the ball rolling! I’m looking forward to soon being able to have the windows rolled down, breeze blowing through my hair, and my skin being sun kissed. I am in desperate need of Vitamin-Sea and my mind, body, and spirit feels it. There’s just something about being at the Ocean, smelling salty air mixed with sunscreen, getting your toes in the warm sand and hearing the waves crash into each other. Can you picture it? This to me is one of my favorite things to do in life, it calms me down and somehow centers me all at the same time.  What is your favorite thing to do? What calms you in the midst of life’s storms? I leave this question with you.  I hope your week is going well, I hope that whatever this week brings that you know that you guys have someone who is here and praying for you all. So you already know, before you continue reading grab some coffee, tea, or whatever your preferred drink is. Find yourself a comfortable spot and let’s chat for a bit.

*Edit* I started this blog a few weeks ago, and didn’t have the chance to finish it at the time. Ironically enough around this same time last year I wrote a blog titled “Taking Up Space” where I became very vulnerable and spoke of things I only kept inside of my heart. Reading back some of it made me realize that for many years I feared that I was taking up too much space physically and personality wise. But I am so grateful to have this outlet where I can be honest with you guys and receive amazing support. This time around I want to write about making space in our lives.

For years a dear friend of mine kept telling me to clear my emails because I had too many that were unread.  For years I kept letting the emails pile on because it wasn’t worth the hassle to clean it up. A few weeks ago I decided to dedicate time to my emails. Let me tell you it wasn’t easy, I had over 180,000 unread emails. Before you judge I know I KNOW.  So a whole day later, literally a whole day it took for that number to go to 0 and you know what it felt amazing! I was wondering what else I can free up and decided to clear up a lot of stuff off my phone.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had to do the same with everything in my life.  I then started to go through my clothes, things that no longer served purpose in my room and by this point I reached the inevitable.I had to make space in my life, my mind, and my heart.

There are a few things that I know I have to let go of, I can no longer hold on to something or someone that I became attached to just because of how many years I’ve had it or them in my life. I had to analyze if I held on to certain things because of comfort, because I’ve had them for so long, or because they’re actually needed in my life.

Have you ever held on to something or someone just because of the comfort that comes with it? Now don’t get me wrong I’m not asking you to cut everything and everyone out of your life. I’m asking you to take a moment away from everyone and everything and analyze what is worth taking up space in your life, is it worth the peace that it may be taking away, is it worth the anxiety it might bring. This is a crucial season for everyone because this is when we start to think about changing our wardrobe from benefitting the colder weather for one that benefits us in the warmer months that are coming along. 

Is what you’re holding on to worth the space or is it time to make space for the new? I’m not only asking this for you, I’m asking this because this is something I am currently working on.  I’ve held onto friendships that in the end ended up hurting me because they didn’t care about me, they cared about what I could give in the friendships, I’ve held on to men who I thought could be the one because of the potential I could see in them and I am going to be honest to all who are reading this right now. No person is worth the space they take up in our hearts and minds just solely on the potential we see in them. They are not worth the peace they take, nor the confusion they bring. Neither should we lower our standards for someone so that they can feel comfortable. I have learned in serving an amazing God that having standards isn’t wrong because I know how I hold myself, I know what I contribute to everything I do, I know what I can do with everything that is put in my hands. At the end of the day keeping space open enough for that person will always be worth it.

The same goes for jobs, so many people stay miserable in a job that may belittle them, may not appreciate them, or value them because they are too scared to seek new opportunities or too comfortable to move.  If I would’ve stayed at my old job just because I was scared to move, scared to ask for a raise, scared to make space for new things. I would’ve missed out on so many beautiful opportunities.  It’s hard to make that leap, don’t get me wrong but when you trust God and learn to trust your gut you will be amazed at what you can do and experience.  Now I work at a job I love doing and have grown so much from. I’ve learned so much from my coworkers and from the students I help daily but it only came because I was willing to make the space for it. 

Life is hard, work is hard, relationships are hard, family and friendships are hard but these are things we have to work at constantly.  I hope that if you can take anything away from this it’s that you have to reevaluate your life constantly. Think about the choices you make, the ones you need to make, and look at every aspect of your life closely.  There are so many things and people worth holding on to but there are also things and people that we need to make space for. 

I leave you with these quotes;

“Sometimes you just need to be alone, that’s okay.  It doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you, or even that anything is wrong in your life. Sometimes you need to create the space to soul search , recover, think, rest, and just be.  You don’t have to apologize for needing or taking space.  It’s part of what makes you a happy, healthy person.”

Unknown

“Clearing clutter- be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual- brings about ease and inspires a sense of peace, calm, and tranquility.”

Laurie Buchanan

Until our next unpacking, have a great day my lovelies!

Love always,

Janny Mari