Back in the Saddle Again

I am back in the saddle again. I am thinking more of the old Gene Autry song than Aerosmith here. (They also had a song with that title.) It seems to be a tune about a person doing what he loves. 

The previous year was a year of challenges for me… and the grace to get through them. Who knows what this year holds? I can only know what I am choosing to focus on at his point. 

I am blessed to have the opportunity to create something. 

This desire is something that popped up later in life, but it has helped me have a sense of purpose and fulfillment. It was definitely a surprise. It is not a source of significant income. It is hard work. But the end product is a source of real joy. 

For me, it is designing vintage lighting and writing. It is fun to see if I can take an idea and a blank page, a piece of raw material, or an antique and make something that someone else might want. It’s fun to see I can express myself in a way so that other people can relate to what I am saying. But it has its challenges. 

As I begin writing a piece or trying to make some sort of unusual lamp, I will run into a series of problems: things don’t fit together, something rings true, but is not interesting to read. All of these problems have to be fixed one-by-one. Sometimes there is literally no end to the revisions, and I just have to regard it as complete and let it go.

Doesn’t life consist of dreams, plans, and expectations? Don’t things go a bit awry with some degree of regularity? Don’t we have to figure how to stand up to those challenges and move forward?

A problem, a challenge, or any unforeseen curveball of life it just that and nothing more. It may require a new approach, some changes, a different timeline, a new attitude, a lot of prayer, or some help. But these things are doors in disguise, not walls. 

So, as I get back into my comfort zone, I know that it is also a challenge zone; just like life. But I love it.

My vintage lighting site: doo-dads.com

I’m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly jimsonweed
Back in the saddle againRidin’ the range once more
Totin’ my old .44
Where you sleep out every night
And the only law is right
Back in the saddle againWhoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin’ to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the saddle againI’m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly jimsonweed
Back in the saddle againRidin’ the…

Photo: “Bagshot, December 2009” by mazzle278 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0