In your personal space,

Cultivate Calm

“Find joy and solace in the simple, and cultivate your utopia by feeling the Tao in every cubic inch of space.”

Wayne Dyer

I thought again about wild strawberries this morning—about how they cannot be cultivated, only discovered. So many wonderful, life-enriching things are like that—incredible sunrises and sunsets, amazing geological wonders like Bryce Canyon and Old Faithful. There are things we humans can cultivate, however, that also enhance our lives. One of those involves creating space that soothes us—simple, uncluttered, clean, comfortable, and calm. That space does not have to be magazine-photo worthy—in fact, too many of those rooms are best left in the studio. They end up being cold and untouchable—interesting to look at in a magazine, but sterile to live in.

Deciding the purpose of a space is a good starting place—is your goal to create an area for gathering and welcoming other people, or is it one where everything is out, so that you can easily lay your hands on it—a work space, for instance. Is it a place designed to provide privacy and rest, or a public area for passing through or meeting together. My personal goal is comfort. I want my home to be a place of comfort for me and for anyone else who enters. I'm less concerned with appearance than with ease and utility. I want anyone who enters, people and pets included, to know that they are welcome and that there is nothing so precious here that they cannot touch. If I have something I don't want touched, I put it away. There is nothing less inviting than being told, “Don't touch that! It's valuable.” The unspoken message being, “more valuable than your friendship.”

The Tao is a place of sanctuary, of connection and sacred space. When we create this in our homes, we tap into the part of ourselves that is grounded, connected, and sacred. Our home becomes an expression and generator of that energy. People feel it as soon as they walk in. Now, more than ever, we need sanctuary. We need to create “soothing stations,” where people can go and feel safe, accepted and appreciated—no matter who they are. If you have the capacity to create that, by all means, do. It is a gift to the world.

Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships—the ability of all peoples to live together, in the same world, at peace.” It begins in our homes; in the environments we create for ourselves, our families and one another. Cultivate peace. It begins with you and me.

                                                            In the Spirit,

                                                                 Jane