Packing up the office to move has been an interesting experience.
I love moving, so for me the task has been tinged with excitement. We’re moving from an exceptionally old office building - with its exceptionally old plumbing, exceptionally old elevators and exceptionally old tile, paint and linoleum - into one that is brand-spanking-new and designed by a famous architect.
The new space will be very sleek and minimal, and unlike our current quarters, the walls will be entirely glass. How could such a change not be exciting?
Well, ask my coworkers. Neither one is particularly enthusiastic about it. Yesterday, as one was packing her desk, she said, “I hate moving.”
I asked her why, and she said she’s sentimental. She finds it painful not only to leave our old building, but to clean out the accumulated stuff on her desk. Throwing things away, for her, is an arduous and even emotional task.
For me, it’s cleansing. It’s a chance to get rid of stuff that’s been lying around for years - the posters from the editors’ meeting in 2000, the office supplies that weren’t quite right, the stacks of bizarre plastic attachments for the slow, ancient printer that we’re leaving behind. I will be thrilled to have all this stuff out of my life.
To me, it feels like a progression, a step ahead, to clean things out and start anew in a more modern space. To my coworkers, it feels like a loss. My challenge has been to understand where they’re coming from, and - as move coordinator for our office - not pressure them too much. I’ve let them handle their packing and organizing at their own pace.
I do wish they could be as happy about this move as I am, though. I wish they could see it as a gain, a chance to trade dowdy brick walls for a bright new vista of glass.
Change is tough for many people. Letting go is difficult unless you practice unattachment the way you do.
ReplyDeleteFor me, moving out is difficult, but moving in is fantastic. So glad you're excited about your new digs!
Great pics today - they make me think about all the energetic cords that tie people to specific places. Beautiful!
Good morning Steve. As I have packing up my things for my upcoming retirement, I had been struck by the stuff I hung on to thinking I would need it sometime. I look at this stuff, like drafting tools that are obsolete, and wonder what I was thinking. Kind of like life, I cling to things without knowing why I cling.
ReplyDeleteSounds Exciting. Back in December, we added onto our office space because our staff size was growing. At first, my staff didn't want to move, but I assured them it would be a good thing. They couldn't get it around their minds, until we got there. Then, they realized what a great new addition it was. We all got lots more space, and I got a fancy big office. It was a win, win.
ReplyDeleteSo maybe your co-workers will like it once you all have moved.
hmm, unlike reya i saw these pics as tangley.
ReplyDeletei've only been gone 3 days and missed so much! i loved your summer pic. and poem.
I don't fear change at all - in fact I welcome it - but I still hate moving because it's a lot of damn work!
ReplyDeletethese pics remind me of a recurrent dream i have of flying and then getting tangled up in electric cables, buzzing pod.
ReplyDeletei like moving, but have moved a lot, and the last move (moving country again, then into my new pad) took its toll a little. and i will shortly be moving again!