Are You No Longer On Speaking Terms?

Have you ever been so annoyed with someone whom you love that you can barely stand to be in the same room with them?

And yet you know that that is precisely the time when you should clear your calendar and put some time aside to spend with them??

Your relationship with your house is no different.   

If you are disgusted, fed up, and frustrated (as I have been with my house many times), maybe a little quality time together is what is needed.  

Is there clutter that is clogging the works? Is it time to sit down and think about which spaces in your house are working well and are comfortable & beautiful....and those that are NOT?  

Even if you pay someone else to clean your house, do you give yourself a little time each week to put things where they belong? Are the drawers in your dresser ready to receive clothes that have been washed? Or do you have to leave them in the basket since there is no room for them to be put away?

I know, I know. It isn't sexy. It isn't glamorous. (Maintenance--eeeww, gross.) However, the truth remains that regularly and intentionally giving your home TLC will greatly improve your life in your house...

and in return the space you live in can then support you.

Give yourself some time this week to maintain your relationship with your house through some loving attention. :)  I promise your efforts will benefit you both!

Mother's Day Fun

I just had to share this picture that I managed to corral my kids into taking with me on Sunday. :) OH, the groaning and griping that ensued when I asked them to sit on the couch with me as we were visiting at my mother-in-law's house...

They ordinarily love taking selfies..just not with their mom. So glad I didn't take no for an answer. Now I have a Mother's Day picture that I will always cherish. 

Getting To The Heart Of The Matter

OH, be still my heart!

The bleeding hearts in my garden are in full bloom right now--something that didn't seem at all possible a couple of months ago when that very patch of earth was buried under about 14 feet of snow... 

Their sweetness and beauty always show up at this time of year--and this season it seems even more timely and poignant because I see so many around me trying to bring their own hearts back into bloom after a brutally long and hard winter--both the literal and figurative kind. 

I wonder if this is something you see around you too? Or maybe your own heart feels heavy and dull in your chest…. 

Ideally, one of the places where our hearts should feel open and free--truly blossoming--is in our homes. When we are at home, I hope we can feel at home. Even if you don't, your house contains amazing healing abilities and wonderful elixirs that can help you to bud and blossom. Here's what I mean:

Our house contains our stuff, and our stuff points back to our hearts. As you know, I am not a big believer in the importance of STUFF just for stuff's sake, but we can't deny that our stuff helps us to understand ourselves sometimes--what we value, what we treasure, what we feel worthy of, what we want to create.

Our stuff at times can symbolize not only what we adore or want more of, but sometimes it can show us where our heart aches and may need to heal. Some of the stuff we choose to hold on to points us to a deep heart-centered longing or questioning of who we are and what our place is in the world. 

To be clear, this STUFF is still just stuff. What makes it powerful and either healing or damaging is the energy and symbolism we attach to it.  Sorting through our stuff gives us the opportunity to honor things about ourselves, and shed identities, stories, and burdens that are no longer serving us or helping us to move forward. I have been there myself many times. 

So, today I invite you to look at your stuff and recognize how it makes your heart feel. Find at least one thing that makes it feel heavy, and commit to removing that item from your house in the next week. No matter what. Really. Get it gone. That heaviness has no place in your home. 

Next, find at least one thing in your house that lightens your heart and put it somewhere that you can admire it this weekend.  What about it makes your heart sing? Answer this question from the heart, and feel a world of possibility come into bloom.