How to bring on the ease and spaciousness!

I work with a lot of people who are constantly in a rush, running from one thing to the next, late nine times out of ten. There’s no time for anything new, there’s not even time to be right here, in the present. I understand that state of being because that’s what my life used to feel like too.

How we got from there to this place of ease and time for what we love, has been a journey in deliberate choices for an intentional lifestyle.

Don’t get me wrong, life is still full. My husband and I have full time careers; life with two kids is never dull; I serve on the board of my son’s school and have groups of women that I gather with regularly.

This past month, in fact, I had an experience that highlighted for me just how full life is.

My in-laws were in town visiting the month of May. They found a little house to rent a few blocks down the road and explored the mountains and rivers most days while the kids were in school (and us grownups worked). But they were always present at transition times: helping to get the kids off to school or put dinner on the table, clean up or read before bedtime. It was amazing.

Passing off the daily schedule the night before was also eye-opening: who was picking up who, what activities were happening. We made the mistake of talking about two days in a row once and much confusion ensued. It made me realize that our schedule--while it feels easy, doable, just right--is actually quite full of transport and commitments and thinking about who has the kids and what is happening next.

Ironically, we are the least scheduled of our friends. We intentionally don’t sign my son up for sports (yet). We are home-bodies most weekends, working on the house or the garden (or occasionally a big work project :)). We gather with my family and our extended community with some frequency because it’s important to us; we go on the occasional camping trip. We revel in being, in soaking up the sun and the elements, in cozying up on the couch to read, in the continual practice of being as present as possible.

Part of the reason we are so content at home has to do with the way in which we’ve come to live intentionally in our spaces over the past 15 years. This means not only with the appropriate Feng Shui that allows us to fully decompress and enjoy a stress-free home--but also surrounded by only the objects, the things, that make us happy (literally--the ones that create a feeling of joy welling up inside you when you touch them or see them or think about them). Turns out, it's a lot more pleasant to spend time surrounded by what you love, than surrounded by a hodgepodge of loved items and those that actually weigh you down. 

That was the key for us in our home, the switch that allowed life to simplify to a whole new level: we surrounded ourselves ONLY by what we love.

Here’s the secret. When you are intentional about the things that surround you, the rest of your life becomes full of only the commitments you enjoy and the people you love. 

You begin to say no to the things and people who drain you, so you can say yes to doing what you love with the people who make you happy.

We have projects and things to-do just like everyone, things that break that need fixing, weeks that are more full than others. But the overall feeling, the overall tendency, is easeful, spacious, grounded, joyful, deliberate.

Tell me, where are you on the spectrum of intentional living?

Do you have time for what you love?

Do you feel at ease in your own surroundings?

Or most of the time do you feel like you’re just putting out fires?

I know what it feels like when life is just one d*mn thing after the other--you get to the end of the day exhausted and you wake up exhausted--where you have full days and yet, aren’t sure what you accomplished. It doesn’t feel good.

When you are ready to take a step towards ease, towards surrounding yourself by the people and places and things that bring you joy, towards living intentionally in your spaces, get in touch. I’d love to find a time to talk on the phone, to feel into your dreams, and how I can help you get there.

Every dream starts with a seed, with a sense of urgency to become something greater, more enjoyable, more impactful. And then it takes care and patience to get there. I help people develop their dreams into reality in their daily life.

When you are ready to make space in your life to be right here, in the present, get in touch (tenaya@tpkfengshui.com) we can find a time to get the clarity you need.

Dare to create the space that reflects the person you strive to be. Dare to be your happiest, most fulfilled self. Because that feels good. 

:) Tenaya