Second-Hand Inspiration

You know what I love most about thrift stores and little second-hand shops? Sure, I'm a broke college student on a budget, and you can't argue with the prices you'll find at these types of shops. (I once bought a winter coat for $6!) But I don't shop at these places simply because they're affordable. I shop there because of the stories that are told with each item I find.

As I've stated before, I find inspiration in the strangest of places. Something about being submerged in this massive place filled with other peoples' stuff... stuff that they once used, that once was in their homes, that influenced their life in some way... really inspires me. I imagine what they looked like, what their names were, if they had a big family or lived alone... I wonder why they got rid of the things they did. It's like a movie that plays in my head.

Anyway, I was rummaging through some of the glassware (searching for a fishbowl for my new fish!) and found an interesting looking book, called Transformation Soup by Sark. I found it odd that it would be in the middle of the dishes and cookware, so I picked it up and flipped through the pages, and was instantly sucked in.

The pages were hand-written in bright hues of pink, green, blue, and yellow. There were silly illustrations scrawled across most every page, and an interesting beginning to the book, which was simply a white page with the words "you are your own healer" scrawled on it. With every page I turned I found more bits of wisdom and insight on how to truly heal oneself. It invited me to look at myself, isolated from every person who has ever had an affect on my life, and figure out who I was without them. It invited me on a journey to discover my own potential, and mend the broken pieces of my past.

And I don't know about you, but I think $1.99 is a small price to pay for such infinite wisdom!

So I bought the book, as you could have guessed, and I haven't been able to put it down! Though I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a "broken" person, I've been through my fair share of relationship trauma and lost many pieces of myself I wish I had held onto. I've been sort of stuck for the past 5 years of my life due to a failed relationship (most of my poetry and other various ramblings reflect on said relationship) and I was certain I'd never be able to open up and love someone again. But this book really spoke to my heart, and I learned that while it's easy to blame others for our misfortunes, what it really boils down to is how you react and respond to the not-so-fun things in your life. And by changing your view of yourself, you change how you interact with others, and, well, lots of changes occur and pretty soon, you're happy. :)

I can tell you one thing for certain, I never would have picked up this book in a retail book store! (So go out an support second-hand stores! It's the best way to recycle, too!)

I'll leave you with a little taste of Transformation Soup (hehe... pun):

"Sometimes it hurts to much to peel back the layers and feel what's under there.
Yet what we're not healing is hurting us somehow- whether it be through absence, stagnation, avoidance, or bad dreams. Healing can be nearly invisible, agonizingly slow, astonishingly rapid, easy, very difficult, and inexplicably woven into the hurt, so we can't tell what's been healed right away. But there are jewels in the dirt, gifts in the mud, and doorways we didn't previously see.

We must only be willing to see what is.

Let's speak of our secrets, share our pain and tears, and lean closely together to peer into the dark caverns. We are so indelibly connected to each other, and such tender souls. There is much to heal, and a lot to laugh about.

Let's begin".