I will keep private how and why I landed up on a path this week
unexpectedly and unplanned.
It was path that I never thought would personally be my journey.
But I have a sense it is the final chapter for me to start my new chapter.
I have been a responsible single mum and business owner for 20 years
and with all the events of the past months I thought I had clarity
on how and why.... things turned out the way they did.
One of my favorite books I used to read my kids was the missing piece.
I appreciated the notion that sometimes it feels better to be incomplete.
In the same way I have embraced the beauty of imperfection.
However, my journey this week taught me there are some fundamental pieces
that have to be found.
-Were words that changed my life this week.
I learned to understand it can apply to anything in our lives.
I have realized that much as though I love Shabby Chic and much as though
I love my children my exterior passions have also allowed me to avoid my
own inner peace and strengths in some respects.
On one level I have manifested beautiful children and
a beautiful aesthetic but I have clipped their wings due my fears.
Once again I have been graced with a gift that as my children become
adults and Shabby Chic finds its new form, I have learned to understand
I have given them roots and wings, and now I can let go and discover my
piece and peace.
I always wait with such anticipation for each of your blog posts. But this one was especially beautiful. The story of the Emperor Moth is something I so needed to hear right now. Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI wish you all the best in your journey of discovery.
A lesson I have been learning as well.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful post as always.
ReplyDeleteThe tale of the Emperor Moth is a wonderfully wise one, thank you for sharing it.
Love
Alison
x
I have found myself in that same boat lately! Thank you for sharing! I especially liked the story about the moth.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this beautiful post and your thoughts with us.
ReplyDeleteWe just never know where the journey of life will lead
Alison
What a journey you have discovered.
ReplyDeleteYour greatest gift is sharing your wonderful sentiments with us. Thank you for continuing to add beauty to my life.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful wings, Rachel.
ReplyDeleteRachel~
ReplyDeleteYours is a journey filled with beauty. I love that you see things for their possibilities. Not everyone has eyes to see. I pray that God will guide you down His path, the path of ultimate joy and peace.
Thank you for continuing to share and inspire.
Blessings!
a beautiful post with an important reminder for us all
ReplyDeleteThank you for that beautiful post and reminder that life is a learning process and as much as when we are in the middle of a rough patch it is hard to see where this is all going, some day we will look back and say thank you.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like love. Such a joy, a gift, a blessing. I use the terms roots & wings a lot about my kids. It's probably the age they are.
ReplyDeleteMy best & warmest regards,
~Marilee
Lovely!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Lisa
Sometimes discovering things about loved ones and ourselves can be a bit off-setting and we feel unbalanced for a moment, but by and by we realize perfect freedom in letting go.
ReplyDelete'Really loved this post.
Thanks for sharing.
All the best,
Eileen
Wings & memories... tomorrow & yesterday. The very best gifts. Today is up to them. They'll use both to make their todays wonderful. How could they not?
ReplyDeletePeace,
Julia @ Drawn to the Sea
Yes. :)
ReplyDeleteDebi
Everything happens for a reason we might not see it now but it will be reveled someday and you will say oh now I get it. Love what you had, love what you have, love what you want. xo, MB
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very powerful story, I don't think I've read it. I might have to use that one with the children I teach~ that sometimes you have to let things happen the way nature intended.
ReplyDeleteI wish you many new adventures and memories on your new path~ looks like you found some new wings to help you get there! ;)
Oh Rachel....this has me welling up. Lessons very much like these have been being learned by me lately and oh how the quote "How very empty of me to be so full of you" hit home. My only child, a beautiful girl who has grown to be my best friend, does indeed need to move on -- and I truly AM trying to be "on board" with that. :) This blog post has not only reaffirmed that for me, but has also given me resolve to be an even more active participant in her (our) new journeys from here.... Thank you, because until now I don't think I realized that I was more "along for the ride" as she makes her way into the world -- I will now be more of a participant in helping her do so. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written -- amazingly timely.
~Ruth
Our lives have many roads we walk down some are bummpy and some are smooth. Hope you enjoy your new path.
ReplyDeleteMy mom gave me a butterfly charm for Christmas and in the note it said,
ReplyDelete"Butterflies are free to fly" telling me to spread my wings...
It's a sentiment that I will keep with me forever.
Janet
Many of us have traveled our own personal journeys this year that haven't been easy. But you are so correct in that if you "let go" and stop fighting, you will end up on the right path. And I too, have discovered how wonderful it is to have my children, become my young adult children. Nothing makes a mom's heart prouder! I love the moth story, up on my bulletin board in my office, thank you and take care!
ReplyDeleteFabulous post. This post-- your creation-- both decorates and feeds my soul.
ReplyDeleteEach phrase, every sentiment, enriches and inspires, feeding and filling the inner being, expanding my universe with the notion of what might be, whan can be, what will be.
~Thinking of you and looking for your post, happy to read about your journey!
ReplyDeleteThe Emperor Moth has taught me a valuable lesson, much needed at this moment!!
ReplyDeleteYour spirit is so true and I wish for you nothing but bliss for the next chapter of your journey!!
Hugs xOxO, Nerina :)
What a great post!
ReplyDeleteI've booked my tickets for your signing at Selfridges - can't wait to meet you.
Victoria xx
This is the most poignant entry I have ever read. It is very timely for those moms and dads who have a child leaving for college.
ReplyDeleteWhat you have written will help so many people. I just know it.
With thanks,
Lisa
Hi Rachel -
ReplyDeleteI agree - this is the hardest part of parenting. Once again we're reminded...money, fame, and fortune don't mean a darn thing - ultimately it's about your kids. I think I get your path and I'm sending you energy for courage -
Marsha
Hi Rachel -
ReplyDeleteI agree this is the hardest part of parenting. Once again we are all reminded that fame, fortune, and success don't mean a thing - ultimately it's about your kids.
I think I get your path, and I'm sending you energy for courage -
Marsha
Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteMay I post the Emperor Moth to my blog?
Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all beauty to my life.
Take care.
Lots of love and wishes for a happy day:)
Beautifully said! Beautiful post. Your blog has been giving me ways to think about my own life and where my career is headed. There are always more gifts in our life than we realize- we just need to think about it or have someone else point it out to us!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
God bless you on your new journey. You will do fabulous again!
Michelle Zuniga
Zuniga Interiors
zunigainteriors.blogspot.com
~Beautiful~
ReplyDeleteThank You so much.
With Kindness,
Mary
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI have also walked a similar path, in fact, may only be a little further along than you are right now. Your words help smooth some of the rough spots...
Sometimes not knowing where we are going or what the future holds allows us to focus on those things we have been much to busy to see when we were doing too much and thought we knew everything. Best of luck to you.
ReplyDeleteAmazing insights!! Good luck on your new journey!
ReplyDeleteHi, Such a beautiful post! Have a great weekend x
ReplyDeleteIts the hardest thing to let what you love go....but like you have found you sometimes have to ....whichever path you choose will be the right one for you at this time...xx
ReplyDeleteWow, tears in my eyes right now, what important words to read. As my daughter prepares to leave for college, I will keep reading this over and over. thank you, from another single mom :)
ReplyDeleteYou are an inspiration
Rachel, I had been reading your blog for a while but had never commented. I love how you write so beautifully and each post is filled with so much dream and hope. I hope whatever path you decide to take next will be another exciting and fulfilling adventure for you!
ReplyDeleteI had a light bulb moment when I read "How empty of me to be so full of you". Very, very profound and true, thank you for the illumination.....
ReplyDeleteTiny objets and country roads. I love it!
ReplyDeleteBetsy
Rachel Just "FLY"
ReplyDeleteI've spent several days digesting this quote "How empty of me to be so full of you", as it overwhelmed me so deep in my heart. It can't define better how I felt when my husband left us four years ago now. I found myself as an empty shell, not knowing what to do of myself in spite of my Art and Craft, in spite of my younger son still at home, in spite of my elder son becoming a man. I could barely get up in the morning, so much my whole soul, heart, body have been full him, my man, husband, friend, lover, my great love, during 20 years. And I replaced this big love as much as I could by a much bigger love than ever for my children and by a frenetic activity for my project to move to L.A. Now my elder son is working in Tokyo, my younger son is almost a man and won't stay at home forever. My L.A. plan is almost achieved, my new life is building by itself little by little and I still feel like an empty shell so full of my love for my sons and my Art. But who am I myself ? No idea. Maybe it is time for me to follow an inspected path too, as you did, and to discover what is hidden in this maybe not so empty shell.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your words, you helped me a lot in my search. Wish I could find myself stronger than before, ready to receive a bigger love maybe, without forgetting my inner piece again. I wish you the best for the future as well.
Yael
beautiful & pure <33
ReplyDeleteRachel, I have one of your wonderful chairs, many of your lovely bed linens and all of your beautiful books. You have been an inspiration to me on many levels and now your insightful and sharing blog is bringing good energy into my life. Thank you for your work and for your open-heartedness. I wish for you blessings and success in all areas of life. Sharyl
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw your first picture of the cups, it made me smile. When I first saw them in your book, it sparked an obsession and I soon had a collection of my own. I do love them and have you to thank for introducing them to me.
ReplyDeleteThis post really hit home with me. I also have a child who is sprouting wings. She is almost 20 and it seems like yesterday she was 8. She still calls me mommy and I know it will soon change to Mom but I am enjoying it while it lasts. :) Looking forward to your new book..take care.
Nancy
I am on that journey to put aside fear. Fear seems to blind us to what we should be seeing. I am constantly reminding myself of the truth about things, shining a truth light on the path I should be walking on, keeping me on track.
ReplyDeleteYour design flair lives on in many of us Rachel. Im covering the first sofa you sold right now for a client. She expressed the excitement she felt when she first saw it in the window of your store years ago and it still is her favorite sofa. Just time for a new cover.
ReplyDeleteThanks for expressing your experiences on this beautiful blog!!!
Your wings are growing strong and beautiful also Rachel. They will be a sight to see as you take flight again.
ReplyDeleteYes,Life is beautifully organic,& as such,EVER sooooo evolving...So,we should pay careFUL attention to what It is whispering to us,using ALL of our senses&sensibility towards the next blank page,which CAN be sooooooo scary,Uncharted territory...YET,if we follow Its signs,we'll come into this crossroad ,down our paths,& as The Bard Robert Frost wisely put it"Two roads diverged in a wood,& I,I took the one LESS travelled by,& that has made ALL the difference"...VIVE la DIFFERE'NCE!!!BRAVA,Rachel,4EVERafanofShabbyChic
ReplyDeleteMy wings have been clipped for 38 years now and at the ripe age of 58 I am going to learn how to fly! I wish you blessings as you continue your journey and I hope to meet you up in the sky or at a beautiful flower.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like it is a beautiful path indeed.
ReplyDeleteYour post are always lovely and so inspiring! I can't wait to get a hold of your new book.
ReplyDeleteA hard lesson to learn for some parents.Love and nurturing is very important but teaching children to be self sufficient is the job of parents,ultimately...otherwise we've failed them.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the end for us either.Just maybe the end of the beginning :)
Thanks for the post Rachel,I look forward to your future endeavors.
Love your stuff!
What a beautiful, reflective and transparent post. That's the thing about life, isn't it, just when we are sure about where we are going, and will be going forever, it changes course, opening up a whole realm of possibilities!
ReplyDeletexo Lidy
Hi Rachel!
ReplyDeleteI as I'm sure as many, many others await your rebirth. There seems to be lots of us that have reinvented themselves during these hard economic times.
With change comes pain. I have had my own rebirthing and its has been wonderful. One door cloese another door opens, is so true.
The impact SHABBY CHIC has made in so many lives cannot be altered. It has forever changed me for the better.
When I initially heard the news about the stores, I was heartbroken. Then I read your posts and was even more inspired by you. I had always wanted to send you a personal note, but I never felt like you would even see it. Reading about so many others who feel the same way as I do should give you solace.
I wish you peace. Your piece, and for myself more SHABBY CHIC!
Blessings,
Angela
Beautiful post, Rachel. When my sister had her first child - I embroidered that very quote for her. As time went on and she was having a difficult time with her kids growing up, I would make her recite quote. I wrote a piece on my blog on 8/30/2009 regarding my daughter growing up also. It's frightening and wonderful to see the lights of our lives forge their own future and equally so, for us to continue on a new journey.
ReplyDeletehi, Rachel!
ReplyDeleteHola, mi nombre es Daniele, soy brasileña y vivo en Caracas-Venezuela. Me canta el estilo shabby chic!!!I love shabby chic!!!
Y inspirada en Ud, estoy haciendo mis bordados.
http://detalhesbordados.blogspot.com/
Saludos brasileños!!
what a lovely and colourful post. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteYou are my inspiration! Love reading your blogs. I try my hardest to provide Rachael inspired furnishings at affordable prices. Thank you
ReplyDeleteRachel...Click your heals.."You have always had the power". This is the best time in your life!
ReplyDeleteGod waits to win back his own flowers as gifts from man's hands. Keep it up Nice blog.
ReplyDeletehow lovely, rachel! :0) so good to see you doing well, keeping on...here's to new beginnings!
ReplyDeletejan
hazelnutcottage
Your greatest gift is sharing your wonderful sentiments with us. Thank you for continuing to add beauty to my life.
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nice lens. thank you
ReplyDelete.....
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Hey ! Thank you for sharing such a greatest gift with me. All the gifts are awesome. The beautiful brooch if wings is fascinating me.
ReplyDelete