The diner ceiling shouted to me, “Remember when this color was au courant
and everyone knew where they were when they looked up at me?!” I replied to
the ceiling, “Yes! I know you and around when you were painted. So glad to
see that they retained your color. Some of us remember…
In the ’80’s, many diners were decorated in teal and mauve or pink. To leave
this ceiling untouched might be considered “old school.” I was turned on to
this term by a 20-something. (Ha! I must be old because I enjoy the pink
ceiling days and before them thar times.) I write this Blog because we are
always faced with decisions whether to remain old school or try something
new. Determining whether to let go of the past, an old tradition, or folkway
is a spiritual growth opportunity. Let’s take a closer look at this.
The ceiling is pink. The owners look up and realize diner color palettes
have changed. “To repaint or not to repaint? That is the question.” How does
one decide whether to apply another coat of the same color or strip it and
apply a new one? We souls enjoy this process: analyzing, measuring,
researching, assessing, feeling, intuiting, and ultimately, concluding. How
a soul manages the decision-making process seems paramount to the decision
itself. If avoidance, fear of being wrong, waffling, being impulsive, and/or
regretting are invited into the experience, an equally lower vibrational
outcome might ensue. There is no right or wrong decision. We incarnate to
learn and this is why we enjoy this process so much.
The aphorism: If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Upon closer examination, is
retaining tradition working? Just because it’s been like this foreva doesn’t
necessarily mean that it’s for one’s highest good and the highest good of
all. Take a look at how the pink ceiling feels. Go inside your heart and
reach for your Knowing whether it is sufficient today. If the old-school
pink works for you, congratulations! You made a decision that might have
included some internal chatter like: “Well, I like it. It doesn’t matter
whether others don’t. This makes me happy.” If the ceiling needs to be
repainted, your chatter might have sounded like this: “It’s time for a
change. I can no longer continue this way. Difference will make me happier.”
Sometimes the old way was broken and you realize, in retrospect, that it
never worked. That’s OK that you continued for a while in the classic style.
Your newfound assessment and consideration of a new approach, method, etc.
is to be commended. Shifting to new can be overwhelming for many.
Changing out the pink might happen so quickly that there’s no internal
conversation whatsoever. “Out with the old and in with the new” might be the
tune sung while up on the ladder with the paintbrush. It is important to
keep in mind that some souls enjoy changing, shifting, and discarding the
old. Others prefer classic, vintage, and retro. There is no judgment and
there’s no better or worse. The key question: “Is my present (fill in the
blank) serving my highest good and the highest good of all?”
That pink ceiling made such an impression on me that I had to take a picture
of it. It made me smile. I thought of the owners who decided to keep the
color the way it was because they liked it. Old school it was! The ceiling =
the highest good of all.
(By the way, the food is still good, and there’s a bustle and hum that comes
with any hopping joint.)
Here’s to being old school, trying new things, and knowing the difference!
Love and blessings to you,
~Joanie
Old School
