Recently I was in Hudson, Wisconsin with my daughter, visiting the many shops on the main street. We stepped into the charming art gallery, Seasons Gallery. They had many great pieces and many different types of art; glass, wood, fiber, jewelry and more! As I walked through the beautiful arrangements of art, I saw a book. Usually when I find a good book, I say to myself, “I need another book, like I need additional hole in my head." And then I go on to buy the book. This was true on that day in Hudson.
The book I found was about how to keep moving, that’s also its title. The subtitle is Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change. These are all areas of my life I’m working on. Many, if not most of my coaching clients are also working on these things in their lives. Maybe you too are working on one or all of these things.
The author is sharing her journey after a divorce. Here’s an excerpt from the first part of the book:
Life is a book - long if we’re lucky – and we write it as we go. The ending isn’t written, waiting for us to arrive. I’d known this all along, logically, but I hadn’t yet felt it.
I thought that I knew my story.
I thought that what I was living was the whole story. But it was only a chapter.
After almost nineteen years together, my ex-husband and I separated. When my marriage ended-and with it the life I had known – the book did not end. Suddenly, there were so many blank pages, so many blank years ahead, to fill. There were days, weeks, when I could hardly get out of bed, hardly eat, but I felt the desire to write. If everything was going to fall apart, I told myself, at least I could create something. I was learning to live a different story.
From: Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity and Change by Maggie Smith
In my journey through life, like all of us, I've encountered my fair share of losses. Some of these losses have been monumental, while others might seem relatively minor in comparison. While I haven't personally experienced the dissolution of a marriage, I have endured the end of significant relationships that were incredibly dear to my heart. And whether it was 54 years ago or a mere 8 years ago, the ache of loss remains a tender spot in our hearts.
What struck me about the book I found in Hudson, "Keep Moving" is how beautifully it weaves together the threads of pain and hope. It acknowledges the raw, emotional aspect of loss while holding onto the beacon of hope for change. The magic, it seems, happens through the realm of creativity.
There are many ways we create in our life. This creation is about making something new, something unexpected, even when life has dealt us a different hand than we anticipated. It's about learning to sculpt a life that might be different from the one we originally envisioned, and finding the beauty in that transformation.
Loss is a heavy weight to carry. However, we have the power to mold our lives into something beautiful once again. This can happen through creativity. Whether it's through art, writing, or the profound act of reinventing ourselves, there's a healing process that takes place when we engage our creative spirits.
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