Dealing with the Rhythms of Life

Misty Hollow Carving
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Today’s Blog Post


Dealing with the Rhythms of Life

Change may happen – but Rhythm is a must.

With this simple thought in mind I try to explain to my friend why I can’t always post to my Blog each morning – the way I used to. That same schedule may come back to my life, but for the moment it is not there.

Things changed in life along the way. And change disturbs rhythm. And when rhythm goes in a new way… you have to deal with it.

I am sure that each of us has experienced that rhythm change. In fact we plan for it when we take a vacation.

We set aside time to be away from our normal patterns of life. We agonize as to how we can escape. We then run away from it all to a place that we can simply lay out in the sun on a bright beach and do nothing. Or we escape to a cottage where a good book and the rain showers outside let us free from the normal rhythm back home.

The rhythm back home became ritual that we knew well. It had also become a nightmare in some instances and we needed out. So away we went.

And yet having accomplished that escape we miss the old rhythm… and at the same time don’t want back into it.

Now in my life new things happen that were not happening yesterday.

In 2008 upon retirement I definitely felt the schedule, rhythm and the whole of life change. Kerpow I was out the door. The old familiar rhythm of the past 35 years was not there any longer. Some of you followed my story at that time as I tried to describe some of the emotions and the changes that were taking place. Many identified with the journey.

In 2008 I launched a new business, “Misty Hollow Woodcarving”. WOW what a change that was… and talk about new rhythms! I had never done that kind of thing in all these years of living. My life kind of got a whole lot more exciting… and unnerving at the same time. Things that were a norm for me were no longer normal at all. And new normal began to show up. New rhythms were desperately needed but I had little idea where to get them from. They don’t sell rhythm at Wal*Mart!

The business took off quickly. I was flying within weeks of the launch date at the end of October 2008. Christmas was better than I could have ever imagined. With the new business and the new opportunities it was simply amazing!

At the same time I also launched the Ontario Provincial Chaplaincy. This ministry was grown from the ground up. In this new role I have served as a Chaplain to our elected members of our Provincial Parliament. This has also gone well. In a quiet way, without a lot of fanfare, I have prayed each day for each MPP. I have been in contact with these folks personally. Good things have happened in many, many ways. As a Minister for over 35 years experience I needed something ministerial to stay connected to the old world that I had worked in.

However both of these “new worlds” kind of tipped over in one way or another. Change happened - New Rhythms were needed.

The first I will mention is the Chaplaincy. As contacts increased and new doors were opened more time was needed to deal with this area. I was able to adjust. I had done that over the years with the Pastoral changes so in the Chaplaincy that happened as well. The rhythm was established and the growth started happening.

We all knew it would happen… an election was coming up. Women and men that were established well in their MPP roles began to announce that they were leaving the political arena. A number that had served were in fairly high profile roles in the Government. Some folk speculated that the Liberal party that was leading the Government would lose in the election with these loses.

Tomorrow is the election day. By tomorrow evening we will all know who the new crew is and what Political Party will be in power. For me all of the relationships that I have known for these 3 years will potentially change. There will be some that will be the same… but there will be many new ones that will come into their new role.

One Friday morning I will begin rebuilding the Ministry links with new people.

Change is happening and new rhythms are going to be needed.

My second major change is the Business of Misty Hollow Woodcarving.

After launching in 2008 and entering 2009 with a burst of energy and excitement I was ready to go. Nothing could hold me back. My monthly report showed good signs of progress. WOW!

But then the bottom kind of fell out. Within the first 8 months of 2009 the business was steady… then it slowed down… to a crawl. By the end of September 2009 and on into October, November and December Misty Hollow Carving did little new business. A recession had hit our country and the reality had sunk in… when things are tight not a lot of people want to buy a wood carving. It was considered a frivolity!

As we entered 2010 it was not easy getting up and to keep doing what I was doing so well before.

Change had happened. New rhythms were needed. But with that change and nothing happening… why do you need any rhythm at all? Getting up each morning, meant sitting down to do nothing.

But more than ever I needed to establish a rhythm in my life. Instead of something driving me, I needed to drive me. And I can say that if nothing else happened… I was able to establish a rhythm of my life and keep going.

In the rhythm I tried new things… trying on new things and establishing new patterns.

Although the idea of the recession is not totally gone, and a new threat of an even greater one is looming for some folk… stuff started happening for me in exciting ways.

That new beginning started in June 2010… and by June 2011 it was in full swing. Stuff happened so fast that I couldn’t keep up.

In this past month I am back at the place I was in the Fall of 2008 and into the early part of 2009 business progress and growth.

Whoopeee! It is flying again!

With an election tomorrow I am I have a brand new opportunity as do the newly elected and the re-elected MPPs.

With the new business and the new opportunities I am more than a little excited for Misty Hollow Carving. And a new turn of events is taking place as well. It seems that Misty Hollow Woodcarving is now having a slight name change taking place without me even knowing it. It is now morphing into just “Misty Hollow” – because in the Village of Misty Hollow more is taking place. More Businesses are being developed in the place of Misty Hollow. More shops are appearing.

Whooooopeee! I am looking at a brighter future than ever before!!!!

But with the changes… new Rhythms are needed. And as I adjust to the new Rhythms… stuff that was normal before is not normal now!

I cannot stress enough the need to have a good rhythm in my life. How about your life? Good rhythm for me is almost better than a good vacation.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/