“Finding Myself at Home: The Transformation”

“Home is where your story begins.”
– Annie Danielson

My house and I were not in sync. The space and I “were not one,” not by a long shot. It was clean but felt cluttered, disjointed and not grounded. There was too much of some things, not enough of others. My surroundings seemed to reflect how I was feeling. It was time for a little transformation.

I needed professional help (keep your jokes to yourself) and I knew just who to call.

My original hope was twofold:

• Have a professional pick out paint colors for several rooms (we’re about to do a bathroom renovation this month – pray for our marriage).
• Gather ideas for decluttering the master bedroom, and suggestions for rearranging the living room to make it more pleasant, more Zen. Given that we have a large, long sofa, which can only sit where it sits, it seemed like an impossible task.

My friend, Melinda Gray, of Melinda Gray Interiors, came to my rescue. I anticipated a two-hour session. She stayed for four—and here’s why.

She looked at magazine pictures I had pulled to show her what I liked, found out which current items had meaning to me, and what was troubling me (again, we didn’t have time to go into all my problems so we focused on the house). I told her there was no budget to go buy stuff. “Pretend we’re on that TV show where you’re stuck working with what you already have,” I told her.

She worked with me, asked good questions, listened intently, honored my needs, made suggestions, let me think through things and, with care and humor, helped me see what I needed to let go of. She was professionally “ruthless” once she knew I didn’t have an attachment to something.

I was taking copious notes when she announced, “Okay. Let’s do it.” And the next thing I knew, we were emptying bookshelves, moving furniture, lamps, accessories, putting the “baggage” items in the garage, removing some art and moving other pieces to different walls, and swapping decorative pillows around. Whew! I was thrilled and exhausted.

I put the last “let-it-go-Jeanne” items in the garage and walked back into the living room, taking in the new view. I cried (the happy kind). I couldn’t believe the change in the room. Through her talents, she had provided a remarkably fresh feel to the place, in particular, the living room. By moving the bookshelves to another room, it felt expansive and open; she changed the focus away from the sofa-we-can-never-move, and instead drew one’s eye and attention to a wonderful Jane Hayman painting newly placed on the far wall. Wow.

Every day now, I celebrate Melinda. She was fun and funny and her sincere delight in the results matched mine. Her talents and friendship have transformed my home and left me more serene and grounded.

I found my Self at home. It dawned on me that what Melinda does for people’s environment is what I hope Jeanne Guy Gatherings does for people’s interior landscape, their inner being. At the core, our work, whether it is external or internal, is about self-revelation and becoming who you are.

And, as Annie Danielson would say, “Home is where your story begins.”

Are you becoming who you are? Are you sharing your talent with the world? Are you delighting in it? I hope so, for your sake and the world’s sake.