Thrift Store, Zen, and Beautiful-ness

I NEVER find things at the thrift store when I want them. I always go searching for something and leave disappointed! BUT, my past two trips to the thrift store have left me with treasures of endless fun!!! They were also sporadic trips with little hope for anything. A couple of weeks ago I was driving past DI and decided to stop by because I was ahead of time for where I was going. I wanted to find some tennis rackets. I go back to the outdoor area and what do I find? TWO TENNIS RACKETS!!!! and how much were they? TWO DOLLARS EACH!!!! and what else did I find? TWO TUBES OF TENNIS BALLS!!! I was so happy about this find! The rackets work great and I have had much fun with them. I have found a new joy in tennis! It is challenging, but allows me to release my stress and have fun all while getting a pretty good workout. 

My next trip to the thrift store brought me even more excitement. I wanted to create an area where I can be mindful and relax. A place where I can be real. 

A Zen Area: Zen: a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind. Zen is a way of being. It also is a state of mind. Zen involves dropping illusion and seeing things without distortion created by your own thoughts.

I wanted to make a hammock, or chair swing, or something like it to put in my Zen area. I went to the thrift store (SAVERS) to see how much a wood or wicker chair would be so that I could make a swing much like this:

Isn't it cute!!! Anyways, I looked at the chairs. I wanted to see if the thrift store had any rope I could use. I found this bag with purple and white rope all tangled up in it. I decided to open it to see how bad of a mess it was and it ended up being...... A HAMMOCK!!!! It was my lucky day! It get's better! The day I found the hammock was a half off day on many things, so the hammock ended up being only... wait for it... THREE DOLLARS!!!!! 

So I set up my hammock in my Zen area after clearing out all the weeds, leaves, spider webs, etc. I brought my flowers over and will decorate it to make it an area I want to be. 

I will post pictures when I am done with it!!!