I can make an analogy out of anything...

I can make an analogy out of anything, which is why I’m probably missing my calling as an inspirational writer. Oh well. Here’s my latest:

This weekend I was home alone cleaning, waiting for my sister to get done with work so I could pick her up. I looked for the thousandth time at my bathroom sink. This sink has been clogged for years and I’ve never gotten it fixed. Why? I just live with it…something that bothers me everyday, but not enough to actually do something about it. I become busy with something else, ignoring the sink. But then again, every morning, it clogs and it frustrates me. It eventually clears, but it’s always dirty…I clean it and it gets clogged again…never truly going away. This night, I decided to try fixing it.

I googled “how to fix a clogged sink” and it was easy as pie. I filled the sink half way up with water and took a plunger to it and gave it hell. Well, it was a bit gross and clumps of hair came up, but what surprised me the most was what I saw next. There, in the water, was a blue marble. I used to have these floating candle columns when I first moved in here with blue marbles on the bottom. I laughed and laughed. This whole time, this whole situation was so easily fixable. I had poured drain-o down that sink a million times. I had tried baking soda and boiling water to no avail. But you see, none of that would have cleared it up. It made a difference in that it ran a bit better for awhile, but it always became clogged again. I needed to remove the marble. And here’s where my profound thought comes into play:

We all have marbles in our sink. Feelings, emotions, hurts, wants, needs, and love that get shoved down into the pits of unawareness. It is only by awareness that the marble clogs us up and we must clear it out. If we are so unaware and meekly just existing, marbles might be so obvious to other people in our lives, but not to us at all. We can meditate, exercise, think about other things, throw ourselves into activities and hobbies, but these are all ways to just pour drain-o into the sink. The only way to be clear is to decide for yourself that you WANT to do this, even though it may be so hard. But, then again, it might be easy as pie. The latter is what worked for me, and I’m so very glad.

I’ve had an interesting week. An awesome, amazing, inspirational week. I’ve found compassion in the strangest of places. I’ve learned lessons that I’ve been working on for years. Why? Because I decided the marble wasn’t tolerable anymore. I decided I want to live in Technicolor and not black and white. It’s so much better having my sink clear, literally and figuratively. It’s just so much better. But, I didn’t know it could be this good. Living with my sink clogged for so long, I thought that was the only way to be.

Open your heart up to yourself. You’ll be amazed at what you will discover. I’ve lived so inauthentically to myself for so long. I forgot everything I loved and what made me who I am. I was so distracted by caring what others thought of me, that I missed the big picture and the lessons they were trying to teach me in the first place.

I’ve discovered the joys of what I love. I love hiking and being in nature. I love being by the water. I love exercise. I love horses. I love feeling and expressing joy. I love taking pictures. I love singing (still working there). I love the feeling of getting up early and enjoying the day. I love reading about everything that interests me. I love having a spiritual practice I call my own. I love feeling connected to everything. I love feeling part of a bigger picture. I love tending to my houseplants. I love planting herbs and cooking with them. I love my flowers every summer. I love new adventures. I love inspiring others. I love being sarcastic and funny. I love to cry tears of joy. And I love to let go and be unattached. Most of all, I love you if you are in my life.

I’ve wasted too much time caring what others think or me and feeling not good enough. I’ve let that happen. That was really stupid looking back. It’s interesting how something that was once such a big deal really doesn’t matter anymore. Lessons learned. I wish I would have picked up on that about two years ago, but eh, we all have our own timelines.

I challenge you to purge your marbles. Stop pouring in drain-o. You’ll just have to deal with it again. It might have a different face to it, a different place to it or even a different theme, but it will still be there. So stop, chill, and get that marble outta there. You’ll be glad you did.

And don’t even think about making a joke about snaking my drain. I’ve already thought of them all, and they are hysterical…but I’m trying to be professional here.