Going Through the Ugly

We’re having our living room carpet replaced with hard wood flooring. It’s an exciting mess. You never realize how much stuff you have until you need to take it all out of a room for the work crew. I was surprised yesterday as the crew arrived a day early. We did not have the room cleared, so me in my pajamas and the guys moved everything out. Our hallways and other rooms are crammed with belongings, and the cats are having a curiosity field day smelling everything in it’s temporary location.

This whole process reminded me that things get messy an ugly before they get better. Problems in life seem to get worse before they get better. Whatever is going on seems to get dreadful and almost dire before we can see the light. Why is that? Is it because we do not ‘see’ the solution until we reach bottom? Or does the panic of the situation help us ‘think’ of a solution we were unable to imagine before? Does chaos help us see clearly? Or does painting ourselves in a corner truly test our stamina and that is when the fighter wakes up within our soul? The saying is right, it does always seem darkest right before dawn. When we are at the end of our rope we think differently, see the problem more clearly, and we are open to solutions we may have discounted before the panic.

We know the floors will get replaced and the living room will be more beautiful than we imagined. It will only take time, hard work for the crew, and a lot of moving things back and cleaning on our part. BUT…we have to go through the ugly before we get to enjoy the beauty. I once had a wise mentor tell me that you are in one of three stages of life – in the middle of a storm, leaving a storm, or waiting for the next storm. It’s not about weathering the storms, it’s about knowing how to be yourself no matter what storm is whirling around you. It will get dark and dreary and messy, and storms do end.

No matter where you are in terms of a storm or mess, know that this too will pass. Beauty and peace will show up and everything will eventually get back to ‘normal’. Take a deep breath, deal with the mess and know that something good is on it’s way.