May Your Path Be

Anchored by Passion

If you’re following Build Basic on Instagram, you know I traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah last week to attend a conference for DIY bloggers. I spent the full four days feeling completely inspired by the unbelievably talented writers, photographers, crafters, and woodworkers who share their talents–and their lives–with us through their blogs.

Naturally there were moments I felt in awe of the creativity of the people around me, moments I felt completely overwhelmed by their “blog knowledge”, and moments when I, quite honestly, felt totally out of my league.

Note: There was also a moment I got my shoe stuck in a fishing net (it was beach night) and took down an entire cocktail table–but that’s another post.

Anyway, at the end of all of it all, I flew home more motivated than ever. Ready to get to work downloading new WordPress plugins, making spreadsheets, and diving deeper into my analytics. And even after a long few weeks of working ahead, traveling, and being away from home, I still jumped out of bed early on Monday, excited to take on the day, and get to work.

I took the dog outside, washed the dishes, filled my coffee cup, and turned on my computer. I ran into my room and pulled all the clothes out of my suitcase, and threw them in the laundry basket. I hoisted the basket, and headed down the steps to the washing machine. When I got to the bottom of the steps, I turned on the light, and paused. I looked through the door at my workshop…my bench was still covered in sawdust from the Filing Chest project I rushed to finish before I left last week. I stood there for a minute, holding the laundry basket, taking stock of the room. “I’ll just sweep up,” I thought. So I set down the laundry basket by the door. Big mistake.

Sweeping quickly led to hanging loose hand tools, refolding a dropcloth, and then organizing the scraps tossed beside the saw. Before I knew it, I was laying scraps out on the bench, trying to see if I had enough 1×4’s to build a planter I saw in a magazine on the plane. About an hour later I was covered in sawdust, and the planter was half done. I hadn’t taken a single photo, or written down a measurement. What was I doing?!?

I stood back and looked around. I could still see the laundry basket outside the door. I remembered the full cup of coffee upstairs. There’s a barn wood picture frame on the wall in my shop that I made with my dad a few years ago. Inside is a print that reads, “Do It with Passion, or Not at All”. When I first started Build Basic, I hung it to remind me that no matter where this endeavor led, if I was doing what I loved and finding a way to help others find joy in it too, then that was enough.

I know there are a million technical “bloggy” things I could be doing right now, but if that work isn’t led by passion, then the effort is wasted, and the message will be lost. So I’m wondering…is it just me? Have you ever had a day you needed to reconnect to the things that make you feel passionate about your life? If you let that passion guide you for a day, or an hour, and threw everything else out the window, where would you find yourself? Maybe you’d have flour on your hands in the kitchen, or dirt on your knees playing with your kids in the backyard. Maybe you’d be covered in sweat after a long run, or be smelling the fresh air as you head out fishing. No matter where you find yourself, do you feel a rejuvenation unlike any other?

And while I know this feeling will push me through all the items on my to do list tomorrow with purpose and enthusiasm, today I’m thankful for the sawdust in my hair, the splinters in my fingers, and the passion that anchors my path.

Posted by Jenn & filed under Blog, General. This post has 7 comments.