Small Shifts = Big Movements

 All it took was rehousing my digital piano.  The digital piano had been sitting quietly, unused, in my makeshift gym/storage room, a reminder of times past and a hobby that I had moved on from.  I had casually tried to find it a new home, once I knew for certain that I would not be returning to lessons, nor would I casually be sitting down and plunking away at it out of the blue.  I was thrilled when a friend showed interest and felt joy as I handed it over to its new owners.  As I returned home and looked in the storage room, I felt a sense of possibility wash over me.  Maybe it was time to make a bigger change.

It's funny how quickly we become used to the status quo - the way they are is just the way they are. Sometimes it just takes a small shift to open us up to bigger changes.

Once the piano was gone, I started to think more about that room - could I find a better way to make use of the space?  What could change look like?  Turns out, change looks like moving my bed down from an extremely uncomfortable attic space that is too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter to a room where I have much better control of temperature dynamics.  That shift resulted in a rearrangement of what was my bedroom/office/storage room on the upper floor, making my living space much less overwhelming and more suited to intentional use.

These physical shifts and movements also had ripple effects in other aspects of my life.  I started to deeply consider how I spend my time, which activities felt like they were in alignment with who I am, and which ones felt like a carry-forward of narratives and expectations that I have placed on myself over the years.  Perhaps there were pursuits that I continued to give energy to simply because I hadn't taken time to stop and evaluate the why behind them.  Admitting this feels freeing and sparks a sense of curiosity versus a sense of panic.  Instead of wondering who I am without the things I do, I am wondering about the possibilities afforded to me thanks to the space and time a small shift provided.