Light & Dark
There’s a forested area not far from my home, a former park, where I often take refuge when I need some quiet space to walk the dogs and calm my mind.
It’s a place I can walk through at any time, even at weird hours, and keep my social distance while still getting some exercise. Often when I’m there, I pray out loud. I ask God what our next steps are; where He sees my place in the world.
The other day I went to this park with our dogs, Stella and Jake, and the day was beautiful. The sun was out, the wind was low, and we walked over the familiar rolling land together, looking through the trees and picking up the occasional stick (well, Jake did – not me!).
I took that same walk one night afterward and it wasn’t so beautiful. I didn’t know exactly where to step (even though I had my flashlight and left the lights on in my car) and at one point, I even thought this one tree was a person. I actually screamed out loud!
Why was that? I KNOW this park! I walk there all the time.
It’s because it was dark.
I was doing the same one-mile loop I always do, but at nighttime in this forested area, everything seemed completely different.
It was the EXACT same walk I take in the light. But when the sun’s out, I’m in control. I can see the upcoming twists and turns in the path. I can see the sticks in our way. I can see that the trees are trees and not people! I can feel exhilarated while walking because I get excited about wherever we go next, whether we stay on this path or move over to that one. When I can see, the challenges make the walk fun and give it life.
Those exact same challenges in the dark were downright scary … I mean, HELLO! I screamed at a tree!
But this is where a lot of us are right now, as business owners. Our visibility has changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t light.
It may feel like you are walking in the dark and can’t find the path you’re supposed to be on. YET what you are doing now is exactly what you’ve always been doing as a studio owner: you are responding to the environment; you’re making a new path; you are marketing, communicating, packaging, delivering, and iterating as you go.
You are TRYING, DOING, and FIXING. And then repeating the process to BUILD what your clients need.
You know how to do this. You know this road. It just happens to be a dark road right now.
And so you have to slow your pace and be a little bit more observant. You have to do a bit more careful planning-focusing on faith over fear. But you KNOW how to walk on this path. You’ve walked it before when you began your business and you can do it again. We can ALL do it and we can do it alongside each other.
We will persevere through the dark. The light will come.
And so I’m sending YOU a little extra light today and an extra measure of faith. This too shall pass and we will grow again. Together.
Love, Misty
