"Feng Shui" What the heck is that?

I want you to meet a new friend of mine. Her name is Sara. She authors a blog called On Simplicity; it's pretty good. The "Siskel & Ebert's" of the blog-o-sphere would give it a raving two thumbs up!

Still with me so far?

Sara wrote a post the other day titled What Feng Shui Has to Say About Clutter wherein she defined the art and philosophy of feng shui and left us with some questions to ponder:

"does the feng shui definition of clutter resonate with you? Do the dangers of clutter seem realistic?" -- Sara at On Simplicity

See, if Sara had talked to me about feng shui 2 ~ 3 years ago, I would have given her a fake smile, a nod of the head and been on my merry way. Back then, the definition of feng shui didn't resonate with me and the dangers certainly didn't seem realistic.

But alas things have changed. Thing is, in my 2nd year of college I underwent a tough time. Life got hectic for me…things got tough… I was working full-time and going to school full-time (I know, I know, people do that all the time. But it was tough for “me”).

Anyway, I visited my mother back home one day. Just before I had left for college, she bought me a graduation present and, well, a congratulatory present for getting into UCLA; she bought me spankin' brand new car. When I came home she saw that the car was a mess. I mean I loved my car, but it was a mess. Here’s where I had my “aha” moment… She said to me,

“you know sweety, how you keep your car is a reflection of how organized your life is.”

At first I didn’t give it much thought; we were going to dinner and were having a good time. But when I got home, the comment stuck in my head and, well, it resonated with me! How I keep my car and my home, is a reflection of how organized my life is. The more I think about the goals I have in life, the more I want an organized life (I need an organized life), a life full of positive energy and so I endeavor to create as much simplicity in my life as possible by keeping things clean and organized (I’m far from perfect and sometimes things aren’t so organized but I’m conscious of the fact that they should be and so I put in the effort).

So Sara, I submit to you...do I believe in feng shui? You bet your butt I do.

I mean I'm no Master in the art of feng shui. No. Far from it. But I agree with the underlying principles. In fact, even Sara admits that she's no practitioner of the art; she merely "enjoys it's perspective." I think we could all work on enjoying and applying it's perspective so that we can live a better, organized life.

[Flickr Photo by: Daz Smith]

Comments

[Vered]

As I said over at Sara's blog, I don't practice feng shui, but I do practice clutter avoidance. So I guess in a way, I believe in these principles too.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Vered: Well, we don't necessarily have to become devout followers of the art in order to understand and accept it's basic principle.

Practicing clutter avoidance is good enough. Keeping that up creates & disciplines good habits.

[mousewords]

*Off to neaten up my workspace*

[Ricardo Bueno]

@mousewords: There ya go! But hey, I'm not twisting your arm over it...my place could use a little clean up too :-)

[meleah rebeccah]

I am not sure if I am really practicing feng shui, but I am a very organized, clean, less is more kind of girl.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Meleah: Well, feng shui or not I bet it makes you feel hella good about other parts of your life (not just that neat home). Right?

[Urban Panther]

For my anecdote on feng shui you can see my comment on Sara's site. Here I will just say that the state of my house definitely reflects the state of my mind. When the house is a disaster, I know it's time to slow down and have a good think. So, I take a day off of work, or dedicate a full Saturday, and put my house back in order--literally and figuratively.

[Amy]

The founder of the company I used to work at, used to bring in the er, um, shaman? to rearrange the buildings each year to meet feng shui. Sometimes to completely impractical results.

So I can agree that the principles are good, as long it doesn't end up mastering you!

[meleah rebeccah]

it really does. I need organization and simplicity to function. Its not a "power struggle" its just the way it is for me.
Yanno?

[Ricardo Bueno]

"the state of my house definitely reflects the state of my mind." -- Urban Panther

@Urban Panther: Funny how that works huh? My reaction is very much the same. When I was at UCLA and it was midterms or finals week, it was tougher to focus; naturally. If my place wasn't clean and organized, I wasn't thinking straight. And that certainly wasn't productive!

@Amy: Wow! Now that's going all out. I wonder if "he" felt it achieved the result he was looking for?

Seems to me (by the way you explain it) that he was doing it because he was a little superstitious.

As for me, the basic understanding that a little organization will go along way in allowing me to be more productive is fine enough :-)

@Meleah: Yup. I know what you mean. It's like I was telling "Urban Panther" about the focus a little organization brought me when I was studying for exams..

I'm far from obsessing about it (I have a cousin who says "feng shui" this, "feng shui" that). I just understand that a little organization goes along way and so I try..

[Lance]

I've read about this twice now...maybe there is something to it! I'll be looking into it more. I have been working on simplifying my life, so maybe I'm on my way.

[Barbara Swafford]

Hi Ricardo,

I love your mom's advice. Aren't moms the best?

I am on a mission to declutter. It seems to be never ending, but simplicity is my goal. I get closer every day.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Lance: Hey there! Aren't you going, or on vacation? Get messy and focus on having some fun for now! See you when you get back :-)

@Barbara: Hiya! Moms "are" the best :-) Mine has so many "sayings." I'll try and share more of them here but a lot of them are in Spanish too...

Anyway, I think we're running around in some of the same circles here on the blog-o-sphere so it would seem we're all on a mission to declutter. And yes, it always seems like a never-ending endeavor :-/ But as you said, we do "get closer every day."

Thanks for visiting Barbara! See you again soon...

[Jennifer]

I really need to work on my clutter, with 3 kids it is a hard thing to accomplish but I am bound and determined to get it all gone lol

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Jennifer: 3 kids? That's a handful. Can you believe it, I want 4. Ha! My g/f says I'm crazy :-) All I can say is "little by little."

Thanks for visiting Jennifer... Read you later.

[Mother Earth]

your mom is one wise woman, especially by starting her ya know with a bit of sweetie attached -- I found with my own kids that sometimes what i say sinks in later.

[Ricardo Bueno]

@Mother Earth: Unfortunately, sometimes it takes us a while to get it... :-/ But we're listening (even when it seems like we're not).