I admit it. I’ve been rather lackluster and uninspired lately, therefore I can’t remember where I heard about your site or your book. I’m surprised that I even ordered it because honestly, I don’t have time to read anything that’s not a textbook. I’m a thirty-something that dropped out of college the first time around; now I will be graduating in December. So I’m busy. And that’s barely including life with my two school-aged children and husband.
I brought your book with me to read during the two-plus hours I have of downtime during my daughter’s dance lessons. Truthfully, I should have been reading for school or doing math homework. But I’ve been not feeling quite myself, so I decided to cut myself a little slack and take a break from the grind. I sat in a coffee shop, book in hand.
I read fast on a normal day, but this wasn’t really reading. I devoured this book. I dug through my overfilled purse for a pencil and started filling out answers. “Comfort, comfortable, comforting.” Over and over these words popped up.
I dug my heels in. “Comfortable” just sounded too predictable. I envisioned myself on one of my not-so-stylish days, clad in sweats and crocs, trudging to class with a mom-hairdo. “Comfortable” sounded sloppy. “Oh great,” I thought, “well at least I won’t have a hard time living up to it.”
Then I read the definition. Hmmm. Interesting. Sounds more like me. Then I read the synonyms. Tears literally filled my eyes. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Several of the words swam to the top. “Cared for, protected, strengthened.” There are others, sure, and all quite fitting for me as well, but I’ve been trying to make sense of a situation in my life and I felt like here was my serendipity. I was being reminded that I was indeed worthy and deserving of these things in my life.
The other word fell into place easily and with much less drama. “Creative.” Lately it’s been too much of the first and not nearly enough of the second. So I set aside the overdue chores and even the textbooks and tidied up my little studio of crafty goodness in preparation for a minimum of 15 minutes daily on something that soothes my soul.
I know I’ve rambled on for quite a bit here, but I had to do it. Part of what feeds me is comforting and caring for others and I thought you might like to know that you have made me well. “Made well,” another of my synonyms.
Jori Maguire, Comfortable Creative
This was really lovely to read as a fellow “comfortable” (Comfortable Bold)
Thanks for this post Jori. I love the emotion that comes up when we truly get who we are at our core. And taking the time to write out what we discover solidifies it somehow. I love that you’re carving out time to nurture your creativity. Congratulations!
Jori, your Style Story is to me an inspiring example of honesty … and of the resilience in each of us. In every moment is the opportunity to change our lives.
Your story really underlines a fundamental part of the Style Statement process. For everyone embarking on a Style Statement journey, discovering and embracing your Style Statement to the point it can be an essential guide for your life requires one thing most of all: honesty. Honesty doesn’t always feel comfortable, but it is always productive, opening the path to a new space in which to be our best, truest selves.
Carrie