I laughed as I drew today’s creative action. Apparently if I’m going to show some love to the most overlooked room in my house…the bathroom…I need to be fair and pay attention to the second most overlooked room in the house.
I drew this slip of paper:
Buy rug for the utility room.
The utility room, also called the laundry room, is where the washer and dryer reside. As a realtor, I see all kinds of laundry rooms, from closets off of the hallway with a washer and dryer tucked inside, to spacious, elaborate rooms outfitted with the latest digital models, utility sinks, folding tables and an abundance of storage.
My utility room was an afterthought in this old house of mine. A small back porch was converted into a very makeshift laundry space. Greg made the room more permanent looking after we purchased the house. Although it functions just fine, it still has the feel of a porch, with its concrete floor and door cut to fit the smaller than normal exterior opening.
I’ve recently decluttered the room, tossing out plastic flower pots and an old vacuum cleaner that has been sitting in the corner for years. I added this simple creative action for the same reason that I included one for the bathroom…to prompt me to extend my creativity into these overlooked rooms.
Back to Tuesday Morning I went today, when I had a few free minutes. Inspiration struck as I parked the car, and I entered the store knowing what color scheme I was going for. I wanted a small rug to cover the concrete floor and one to drape over the top of my serviceable but worn dryer. The two rugs above were very close to what I was looking for…until I read the label on the green, gray and black one. Dry clean only.
My utility room leads out into the backyard, where my garden is. I need a rug I can toss into the washer after I’ve tracked dirt onto it. A rug that requires dry cleaning was not a good option. I turned to another table full of rugs, and there it was, the one I was searching for. Not only was the rug gray and white in color, it was washable! Immediately behind me I found a single metal basket on the shelf. I had carried a mental image of just such a basket into the store with me. I made my purchase, happy with my finds.
Looking up laundry rooms, I discovered that people don’t appear to dream about them like they do bathrooms. There’s the obvious symbolism of cleansing and purification, and a connection to the expression, “airing dirty laundry”, which is the practice of making private personal matters public. However, I was not drawn in that direction.
My arrow of desire led me instead to thinking about inspiration and how I receive it. Looking up the word, I liked this definition:
The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. A sudden brilliant, creative, or timely idea.
In its earliest translation, inspiration literally meant Divine guidance.
I embrace those definitions. Inspiration often comes upon me suddenly, and it is always connected to my creativity. I realized a few years ago that I receive inspiration as a visual download. As I sat in front of a flea market, thinking about a trunk I was about to create my first vignette in, I suddenly received a pictorial list of items, mentally: large metal stars, a rusty star garland, several sizes of green artificial Christmas trees, a pillow, and a vintage gas can. I found each of those items, exactly as I pictured them, within the flea market.
Today, as I parked my car in front of Tuesday Morning, I received an inspirational download, just as I did a few days ago when I purchased the shower curtain and towels for bathroom: two gray and white rugs, a square metal basket. And I found those items, quickly.
I can’t explain why inspiration comes to me in this way. I just accept that it does. And I act upon it. It is extremely important that I am faithful to take action on what I receive. I am showing that I am willing to be a receptacle for inspiration and that I desire to do something with what I receive. Could I choose something other than what I am shown? Certainly. But are the images that I receive perfect for what I desire to do, and are they available as I search? Absolutely. The process becomes a game, a scavenger hunt, a Divine dance.
These thoughts were much more uplifting and encouraging than thinking about airing dirty laundry. That is a practice I don’t engage in. Rather, I choose inspiration, Divine guidance, creativity, the dance. Even when it involves choosing a new rug for my utility room.
