It’s Not a Desk… It’s My Magical ‘Alchemy Station’
The day came when I absolutely, positively, no-bones-about-it hated my desk. I hated it so much I could no longer even sit there. That day arrived after I parted ways with a work-from-home job that had kept me chained to that desk for 10-hour days with tracking software — for two years straight.
Ugh. My mind was numb. My body was probably showing signs of that sitting disease thing. And my soul rebelled in a big way, refusing to sit at that desk for even a minute!
While all this sounds good for a dramatic screenplay, it’s not all that good for a writer. At least for a writer that wants to get any work done. But I just couldn’t bring myself to even look at that desk, that dreaded desk, that desk that had become in my mind a massive torture chamber where anything good went to die.
So instead of heading to my desk each morning to grind away in said torture chamber, I did what any rational soul would.
I went outside and lay on the lawn.
Then I lay on the lawn the next day, and the next. I knew I couldn’t just lie around on the lawn forever (although one of my dogs gets away with it just fine), I decided I had to mix it up a bit.
So I went on nature walks. Then came back to lie on the lawn. This went on for a couple of months. Although lying on the lawn was quite pleasant, it wasn’t very conducive to that thing called making money. Damn.
And my soul was screaming out to get back to my writing, art and creating cool websites. So I knew sooner or later I’d have to go back to my desk.
But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. The very thought of it still made me want to puke. It wasn’t the desk’s fault. The desk is actually quite beautiful. It’s a giant, L-shaped, solid wood creature I had hand-stained myself after finding it on a curb back in Tucson.
No, the negative juju was not coming from the desk itself. It was coming from the stale energy, horrific memories and my own negative mindset surrounding the desk. I didn’t have to get rid of the desk. I had to get rid of the other things. So that’s exactly what I did.
I started with the mindset. I would no longer work at a thing called a desk. No siree, Bob. Yes, it’s still technically a desk. But I will not call it that.
From that moment forward, my work area would forever be known as the “Rynski Alchemy Station.” I painted a little sign to make it so.
I then cleared off all the items on my new alchemy station, cleaned the whole area, and lit a chunk of sage. Chanting, clearing, singing bowls and dog howls followed. (Dog howls follow pretty much everything around here.)
The next step was to set up an altar featuring my spirit animal friend the eagle. An eagle had landed on the pine behind our house just as the alchemy station idea came to me. So my altar has an eagle statue, a crystal grid, and affirmations that my new alchemy station is a place of magic, magnificence and fun.
Putting back the computer, the random crystals and green desk lamp came next, followed by an array of candles, seashells and my new alchemy station sign.
The final stage of this metamorphosis was to say a little blessing every time I sit down to work. Scratch that. Every time I sit down to PLAY.
“I create the most marvelous things here in the Rynski Alchemy Station.”
It’s amazing what a little sage, a lot of Endust and a mindset tweak can do for your desk – or your entire workplace. Even if you can’t bring sage and candles to the office, you can bring a fresh attitude. And you can spruce up your space with a bit of fun.
Personalize your space with crystals, mementoes, a new mousepad featuring the Brooklyn Bridge. Bring in an inspiring journal and calendar. Try a personal essential oil inhaler.
Showcase photos of your dogs and other loved ones. Photos of your family actually do double duty. Not only do they make you smile when you look at them, but they can also stop you from stealing pens, funds and paperclips.
Make sure you enter your space with blessing, proclaiming you will create great things every time you sit there. Then open your heart, take a big swig of coffee, and let the magic begin!
Ryn Gargulinski is an award-winning author, artist and coach who wrote this column sitting in her alchemy station. If you dig her stories, check out latest book: “How to Get Through Hell on Earth without Drinking a Keg or Kicking a Garden Gnome.” Get your copy or learn more at RynskiLife.com.