That drawer, yea you know the one I’m talkin' about...
Do we all have ‘that’ drawer in the kitchen, or is it just me? The one I turn to when I need of super glue, paper clip or a charger to the one thing that I haven’t used in years and it’s inevitably, dead. The drawer filled with promise. The friend you reach to when you’re in need of that ‘one thing’. The friend you can call on when you’re in a bind and are positive they will have something to offer. A stamp for an envelope or a cure for a headache. A quarter to call someone who cares or a rubber band stained with asparagus juice. Nails the size of toothpicks are scattered around the calculator you still have from the 3rd grade and the piece of gum you are surly going to stick in your mouth. If you don’t find what you’re looking for you’re guaranteed to find a twist tie or 500! As you dig deeper a “MO%$#@ FU#@%&” sharp prick greets you from a little something you just can’t seem to find again. You proceed with caution as you continue to search for whatever it was you seemed to be looking for, all the while not throwing a single thing away. On attempting to close the drawer, you place your hands over the heap of ‘junk’ and begin to shake and shift its contents to settle into their new up turned placements in the drawer.
You see, I’m a firm believer in the ‘junk’ drawer. It feels like hope to me. Yes, I just said, the junk drawer, feels like hope to me. Silly I know but think about it! It offers up more possibilities than you would rationally consider. Discovering new things, old things and new uses for old things. The assumption that we need to know exactly what is on the other side before we take a step forward keeps us without the need for hope. What’s so bad with ‘not knowing’ anyway? If you did know everything, there would be no adventure. Sure, if you did, it would save time and you would avoid pain and heartache along the way. You wouldn’t make mistakes and ya know what, it would be so incredibly boring. Without the pain and heartache you wouldn’t have the pleasure and delight that life brings. A successful life is not one that avoids loss, pain and suffering. It’s one that sees both sides of the coin.
So instead, live your life as if you are inside of a junk drawer. Acknowledging the endless possibilities all around. It’s beautiful, messy and clustered, with sticky and unexpected pricks along the way. You may find what you’re looking for, you may not. And thats ok. The drawer isn’t the end…
Much love,
Shantell
