Changing Your Mind & Being Neurotic
Today's prompt:
This is a tough one. I thought about it throughout the day, and at first nothing came to mind, either big or small, though I know really I change my mind all the time. Paint colors, furniture decisions, basically every decision I had to make in connection with the attic renovation we just finished. The thing is, I think I've just gotten in the habit of accepting that once I make a decision, it is what it is, and I'm just going to have to live with it. So you live with life not being perfect, and you ignore that you had a choice and screwed it up in the first place.
For example -- we just painted our attic a color called "pecan praline."
It's bright orange. I've never loved orange, really, at least not without being set off by another color, so I'm not sure why I thought it would be okay. It's just so orange. Really orange. And at night without any natural light there's just this orange glow on everything. The cream colored sofa now looks like orange cream. The medium brown coffee table now looks orange brown. Just. so. much. orange. It's abrasive.
But I'm going to make it work. I'm going to find a way to pair it with colors so the first thing I think when I walk into the room is "oh, pretty colors," or "oh, what a cozy and colorful room" instead of "Oh my god, so much orange. My eyes are exploding." How am I going to do that? Don't know yet.
So I guess I changed my mind on the orange, but I'm accepting that I don't want to have to repaint the room yet and I'm going to make it work. Maybe it will be awesome. Am I saying that you shouldn't change your mind, that instead you should lie to yourself and convince yourself your mind hasn't been changed? Ha. Maybe in this situation.
Well, paint colors are hard. They look so different depending on your lighting, or depending on what colors are next to them. It's overwhelming sometimes to look at a new room and figure out how you're going to get it to go from feeling like an empty room to feeling right, and put together, and like everything in it belongs. The right art is on the wall in the right place. The right pillows are on the couch. The furniture is in the right place. Maybe this sounds dramatic, but it's important. It's the difference between being at peace in a room and feeling uneasy. Does that make me neurotic? It could be that if I can find the right combination, I won't feel like the orange was a bad choice, and I'll change my mind again. Who knows?
This felt like a kinda schizo post.
"What did you change your mind about this year? Was it a big deal – the way you feel about an issue? Or something small – maybe you learned to like Brussels sprouts? What was the moment or series of moments that changed how you felt? How did your friends or family react? Have you uttered the phrase, 'I'll never change my mind!' since then?"
This is a tough one. I thought about it throughout the day, and at first nothing came to mind, either big or small, though I know really I change my mind all the time. Paint colors, furniture decisions, basically every decision I had to make in connection with the attic renovation we just finished. The thing is, I think I've just gotten in the habit of accepting that once I make a decision, it is what it is, and I'm just going to have to live with it. So you live with life not being perfect, and you ignore that you had a choice and screwed it up in the first place.
For example -- we just painted our attic a color called "pecan praline."
It's bright orange. I've never loved orange, really, at least not without being set off by another color, so I'm not sure why I thought it would be okay. It's just so orange. Really orange. And at night without any natural light there's just this orange glow on everything. The cream colored sofa now looks like orange cream. The medium brown coffee table now looks orange brown. Just. so. much. orange. It's abrasive.
But I'm going to make it work. I'm going to find a way to pair it with colors so the first thing I think when I walk into the room is "oh, pretty colors," or "oh, what a cozy and colorful room" instead of "Oh my god, so much orange. My eyes are exploding." How am I going to do that? Don't know yet.
So I guess I changed my mind on the orange, but I'm accepting that I don't want to have to repaint the room yet and I'm going to make it work. Maybe it will be awesome. Am I saying that you shouldn't change your mind, that instead you should lie to yourself and convince yourself your mind hasn't been changed? Ha. Maybe in this situation.
Well, paint colors are hard. They look so different depending on your lighting, or depending on what colors are next to them. It's overwhelming sometimes to look at a new room and figure out how you're going to get it to go from feeling like an empty room to feeling right, and put together, and like everything in it belongs. The right art is on the wall in the right place. The right pillows are on the couch. The furniture is in the right place. Maybe this sounds dramatic, but it's important. It's the difference between being at peace in a room and feeling uneasy. Does that make me neurotic? It could be that if I can find the right combination, I won't feel like the orange was a bad choice, and I'll change my mind again. Who knows?
This felt like a kinda schizo post.