Detach and Go On.
When I got home Friday night, the first thing I noticed was that “WORK YOUR LAND” was spelled out in huge block letters across the driveway. Lexy had started on our weekend project, participating in the town’s Chalk Walk Art with our company’s 2020 yearly theme as the art. She had spent hours preparing the print out the template, and had the outline done before I got home. After getting the kids to bed, we went back outside and spent a good chunk of the night on our hands and knees sketching and coloring the work.
It feels good to create something from nothing. We were excited about the plan to work together on Saturday and finish the piece. We planned on spraying down a clear protectant to allow the artwork to hold up for a few weeks once we finished.
A few sprinkles from the sky could be felt as Saturday morning started. We laid out some plastic to protect the artwork from the rain, but the rain didn’t let up. All-day it rained, and rained, and rained. That evening, I picked up the plastic and could see the smears of chalky colors underneath. The artwork was ruined. All of our work was null and void.
We had worked hard, with attention, and with detail. It was a bummer to see it all just be washed away. But, this won’t stop us from trying again. We choose to be the producers, the ones who create more than they consume, we face hurdles. Things don’t always go as planned — Chalk gets washed away.
In everything, we make we are going to work with intention and care; even at the risk of turning null and void. It’s tough to see our labor, effort, and creativity go to waste. But we continue on. We detach from our emotions, our stress, and disappointment, and we realize all of life can be like that. As the old adage goes, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”’
There is no “all is well.” It’s a struggle. Things don’t go as planned, or they take longer than expected, or they get washed away, or they need to be redone. It doesn’t stop us from showing up the next day, ready to do our best. We give our all to what is in front of us. Yet, we’re detached enough for it all to wash away. That’s the path — it’s the way we work. Detach and Go On.
