The Uncommon Home
Having an Uncommon Home, Education, and Personal Life – Part 1
The Uncommon Home
What would it be like if you went home to a home just like everyone’s home that you know? The same size house. The same type activities such as eating dinner on the fly. The same type of pastimes like watching television or surfing the Internet until you fall asleep. How about receiving your bills in the mail on random days and trying to figure out how which week you’ll pay which bill? How upsetting would your home be if an unexpected need arose like car trouble? Sounds pretty normal, right?
It is normal. Well, I am sure you are not surprised when I say, I don’t believe every home should be just like the next. You should see your home as your very own masterpiece. Your home can be your very own world if you stop allowing “common” to creep in.
There is something inside of us that no matter how hard we try to look like someone else, we can’t, at least not easily. We get it right for a while and like a boat drifting offshore, our lives start to take on a shape unlike the one or ones we’re modeling. Why is this the case? Well, we were never meant to exist like another.
Ordinary is Like Having a Formal Living Room
When I was growing up, the people in my home town all had formal living rooms. Do you know what a formal living room is? It’s a room that can only be used when special guests come to visit. It was the room where children were never allowed to enter. I’ve seen in some cases where the formal living room had white carpet or even white furniture. You know, this was/is a disaster waiting to happen!
That formal living room represented “the best” room in the home. We wanted our guests to see our best. Many reading this will say, so what’s wrong with that?. Absolutely nothing if you want to remain ordinary. Ordinary is the person who paints a false image of self for special guests that family members aren’t even entitled to having. Why go through more trouble and give your guests the best when you give your family something other than the best?
Your home should be elaborate not just in a special room for guests. Not elaborate to others’ standards, but to your own. Allow me to provide you with a dose of uncommon living recorded in history.
The Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon. She wanted to see if what others’ were saying about his home was true. Are other people spreading the word about your home because it’s so unlike any they’ve encountered? What the Queen of Sheba found was that the words she heard from others did it no justice. She explained that Solomon’s home represented the wisdom he had. Does your home represent your best quality? She overlooked the grand amenities of what she saw and spoke to the detail of the food on his tables, the way his workers were seated. He treated his workers like royalty. How are you treating those who have a part to play in your home; those that usually go unnoticed? The Queen of Sheba noticed the service and apparel of Solomon’s staff as well as the entryways. Does your home and it’s unique detail speak to others or is your home just another ordinary home? Remember it’s yours. So what are you doing with it?
Common is Like Hiding Your Clutter from the Guests
Have you ever had to hurry up and prepare for guests to arrive? You throw the dirty laundry in the closet. You picked up all the clothing and unfolded laundry and hid it out of sight. You decided to make all the beds because company was coming over. Then you performed the final mental checklist item-smell good. It’s time to spray the Febreze. What would happen if your guest saw exactly who you are? What if they saw your home in disarray?
The reason a home gets in disarray is simply because it’s not functional for its inhabitants. It was designed to be functional for someone just not the current inhabitants. What if you went on a journey to make your home fit for your use. That would mean if you like to throw your clothing around, place baskets in the spots where they usually land. What if instead of eating out everyday, you hired a housekeeper? What if you and your family made a plan for how to live that actually worked?
When you clean up to impress others, it says that you’re not okay with the clutter of your life as it is. Being uncommon says you stop living like others and you start living like you. Your home doesn’t have to match some else’s. It only has to work for you.
Your Home is More than a Structure
Our home, not the structure, but how we “do” home should never resemble how someone else “does” home. At home, you get to be you. If there is any place on earth you should be free to be you, it’s home. I would love to see how you live when no one else is around. Picture it, you at your best. I bet when you do what you’re good at, which is usually at home, there’s a professional you at work.
You think about things you want to think about. You get a chance to sing and not be afraid. You get to write, read, cook and do whatever it is you do. And it’s good.
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